A Twist of Fate
by Heliona
Summary: Life in Sunnydale gets complicated when a new demon tries to take over, and an old friend of Spike and Angel turns up (Reposted due to NC-17 disappearing!)
1. Part 1

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A Twist of Fate

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**_By Heliona_**

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**_Disclaimer: Right, everyone except Nareia belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy, so no suing allowed. What I wouldn't give to have Spike, though, mmmmmm!!! :D Thanks to Carrie's "Take Your Time" I will never think of white chocolate in the same light again! ;)_**

**_Spoilers: Pretty much all of Season 4, and "Fool for Love" in Season 5. Also there are spoilers for the first half of Season 1 Angel._**

**_Archiving: Jewel's FanFic Central, and Imagination, and anywhere else that asks nicely. symbol 74 \f "Wingdings" \s 12J_**

**_Feedback: Although I've been writing for about 8 years, this is my first Buffy fic, please be nice, but I want to know whether you like it or not, or what I'm doing wrong. Yes, I know this is a despised "Mary-Sue" fic, but, although Nareia starts off as me, sort of, believe me, she does not end up being like me at all! There are surprises in store for you. ;) Now, despite the fact that Spike is one of my main characters, I'm useless at writing him, so any tips would be great! symbol 74 \f "Wingdings" \s 12J_**

**_Contact: Always useful, if I want feedback! Email me at ionakalos@hotmail.com _**

**_Rating: I guess 18, just in case. I don't want to get into trouble._**

**_Note: OK, every that happened in Season 4 has, or will happen, except that Tara isn't on the scene at all. Season 5 has not happened! And, I know that Dru is Spike's sire, so don't yell at me for that everything will become clear later on. Also, Spike did get captured by the Initiative, but escaped before they put the chip in, so he's still the big bad. As for "Angel," Doyle's gone, Wesley's there. _**

And now for the story!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

PART ONE:

Buffy and Willow were out on their nightly patrol. Nothing was happening. Buffy hadn't seen it this quiet in a long time, and she was worried. Willow, was however, much more optimistic. "Sometimes, Buffy, I think you crave this whole danger thing too much."

"Willow, how many times have you known it to be this quiet, and there not be a Hellmouthy reason behind it?" Buffy pointed out, waving a stake about.

"She's right, ducks. Something's rotting in the state of Sunnyhell," the voice came from the bushes. It was unmistakeable.

"Spike, you know you don't have to hide from us," Willow said.

"You're right, just thought the Slayer would stake me if I sneaked up on you," the blond vampire emerged from behind the bush.

"You can bet your ass I would," Buffy retorted. "What do you want?"

"Something unwholesome, no doubt," another voice, dripping with contempt, came from behind the girls as they faced Spike. Buffy could see the look of shock on the vampire's face, and she spun round, stake at the ready.

What the Slayer saw was a small, pale girl, a few inches shorter than herself, with long brown hair falling to her waist, standing there confidently, meeting Spike's shocked gaze defiantly, "Didn't think you'd see me again, did you, luv?"

Buffy looked back at Spike, "What is going on here? How do you know her?"

Spike broke his gaze, and turned his blue eyes onto Buffy, "Bloody long story. Maybe we should go and talk somewhere. And bring this _girl with us."_

"Gladly. I'm interested to know what you're doing here, myself," the girl shot back in return, and proceeded to follow the two friends and the vampire back to the Bronze.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The four of them sat uneasily around a table, hugging their coffees. Well, at least Buffy and Willow were hugging their coffees; the girl and Spike were just staring at each other.

Finally, Buffy cleared her throat, "So, what's your history?"

"She's a vampire with a soul," Spike spat out.

The girl shot the blond vampire an evil look, and turned to Buffy and Willow, "I'm afraid he's right. My name is Nareia. I was born a while ago in Scotland. My family were all secretly practising Druids, or pagans, if you want to call them that, and, when I was turned, they gave me a soul, so I wouldn't career round the world killing hundreds of people."

"What about the whole guilt thing?" Willow asked, curious.

Nareia shook her head. "I hadn't fed from anyone, except my sire, before I got my soul back, so I didn't have a guilty conscience."

"Wait a minute. Are you telling me that you've never fed from anyone?" Buffy asked.

"I never said that," Nareia replied, not meeting Spike's eyes. "I fed from dying people, people that were fatally injured due to battle. I didn't like it much, but I had to live, and technically I wasn't killing anyone."

"Yeah, you were a real Florence Nightingale," Spike muttered.

Buffy looked confused. "So how do you two know each other?"

Spike replied, "She charged around Europe and Britain, killing lots of vampires. She elected herself a Slayer, as a revenge of sorts, I guess. She heard of Angelus, and it wasn't too long before she was tempted to bump him off as well."

Buffy and Willow turned and looked at Nareia in astonishment. "That's about right," she admitted. "I could get myself accepted into a pack, since I'm a vampire. I did the same with Angelus. William…"

"It's Spike now, and don't you bloody forget it," he growled.

"Sorry, honey," Nareia replied, her voice dripping sarcasm. Spike's jaw hardened, and his muscle clenched. Nareia giggled, "I always loved it when you did that."

Spike's eyes flashed, and he got up, "I'm going for a smoke."

"See you later, love," Nareia called after him. "Anyway, William was Angelus' right hand vamp at this point. You have to admit, he is gorgeous," the two humans smiled and nodded, "and I sort of fell for him." At the friends' shocked faces, she added, "Well, I am a vampire as well, that is allowed. Just because I have a soul doesn't make me human again."

Buffy's face saddened at that comment, but she said nothing.

"Anyway, one night, Angelus and I had had an argument, and, to piss him off, I grabbed Wil-Spike, and fed from him," Nareia continued.

"You fed from another vampire?" Buffy asked, her eyes wide. "Isn't that a really.."

"Intimate act?" Nareia finished for her. "Yeah, it is. It generally only happens between a sire and childe, or between lovers. What made Angelus even madder, after all, Spike was his childe, was that Spike fed from me at the same time."

Willow shook her head in amazement, or shock, or something, Nareia wasn't sure. The redhead's face was unreadable. "I bet that did annoy him a bit."

Nareia grinned, "Yeah. He chucked me out of the pack not long after that, which was the best thing he could have done to me. But what Spike and I hadn't foreseen was that, while feeding from each other, we had, well, there aren't too many ways to say this without sounding really stupid.."

"We made a bond," a deep male voice came from behind her. Spike sat down opposite the female vampire again. "It is very rare between vampires, but it's known to have happened before. We could sense where each other was, and what each other was bloody feeling, and when we're close to each other, we experience an awareness of each other unlike anything else." While he was saying this, his blue-grey eyes were locked on Nareia's dark brown ones.

"Anyway," Nareia shook her head to break the gaze. "I still had a soul, and Spike had some very unsavoury thoughts running through his head at that time that I couldn't handle, so I left. Angelus didn't really need to give me much of a push. I haven't seen Spike since then, as I avoided him and Angelus from then on."

"So why are you here now?" Spike growled, leaning forward.

"Because there's something wrong with the Hellmouth. Something's straining to get out, and whatever it is, it isn't savoury. I'd heard about our dear Angelus regaining his soul, but I had no idea you were still hanging around with him," Nareia replied.

Spike's face darkened, "I'm not. We never reconciled our differences.."

"Where Dru was concerned," Nareia finished for him. "What happened to her?" Spike's face darkened even further, and Nareia said, "Never mind, I know." She reached out a small hand and put it over Spike's much larger one. The male vampire didn't try to move his hand away; in fact Buffy noticed it was shaking. "I'm sorry, Spike."

"So, can you read each others' thoughts?" Willow asked curiously.

Nareia shook her head, and took her hand away from Spike's, "Not really. It's more feelings, and when we're this close, sometimes it's images. There is always an extra presence in our minds, though. I've long since come to ignore it when we're far apart, which is how I didn't know Spike was here until I got here."

"I could never ignore you. Your bloody conscience always played in my mind, making me feel guilty. I hated it," Spike spat out.

"Spike, without my conscience, you would never have felt the way you did about Dru, so don't spout at me," Nareia shot back.

Spike growled back, and Buffy quickly interjected, "Anyway, back to the whole Hellmouth thing. Do you know what it is that wants to break out?"

"Sorry, luv, I don't. I only came here to warn you, and perhaps help you. And to reacquaint myself with Angelus now that he has a soul. I didn't expect to meet this enigmatic fellow again, but now I'm glad I did," Nareia smiled sexily at him, and Buffy and Willow exchanged a look as if to say that this girl, despite seeming human, was still a vampire underneath, willing to get emotionally involved with someone as dangerous as Spike.

"Right, well, you two seem to have a lot to catch up on, so I think we shall leave you to it, and we'll catch up with you tomorrow, when we can investigate this Hellmouth thing in greater detail," Willow said, pulling Buffy up with her as she stood.

"But..," Buffy protested, and then was silenced by a stern look from her friend.

"Yeah, see you at Giles's," Spike mumbled, fumbling for a cigarette.

"You shouldn't smoke, Spike, it isn't good for you," Nareia admonished him.

"Why, it isn't going to bloody kill me, after all," Spike retorted.

Nareia laughed quietly, and waved at the girls as they left the Bronze.

Willow shook her head. "They seem to get on really well."

"And she's got Spike off-guard, which is some miracle," Buffy added.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"So," blue-grey eyes fixed on Nareia's brown ones, boring into them, "what are you doing here, really?"

Nareia stared back at the handsome vampire, "Partly for the reason that I told the Slayer, and because I knew Dru had left."

Spike looked questioningly at the female vampire. "I felt your pain, Spike. Despite our centuries apart, we are still as attached to each other as we always were, and I practically committed suicide when I felt your despair. I had to come to you."

"Yeah, well, she's gone now," Spike tried to shrug it off, but Nareia could see the pain in his eyes, hear the pain in his voice, and feel the pain in what she only describe as her heart, although she knew she didn't have one anymore.

"Yeah, she's gone," Nareia said softly, and then stood up. "Come on, love, let's go home. It's getting near morning."

Spike looked down at her. The female vampire was not tall at all, and, even sitting down, Spike towered over her. A need to protect her filled him, but he brushed it aside quickly. He knew she didn't need any kind of protection. "Right, pet. I'm a little hungry, so why don't we grab a bite to eat first?"

Nareia shook her head and rolled her eyes at the pun, but secretly she knew that she was glad to be in Spike's company again. She knew Spike had changed since she had last seen him, and knew that it had partly to do with her, although most of the changes were due to Drusilla. "I don't eat sushi, remember?"

Spike guided her out the Bronze with a hand on her arm, "Look, pet, we don't have time to hunt down rodents or take a trip to the mortuary. Can't you relax your bloody prejudices for one night?"

Nareia shook her head emphatically, and Spike sighed. He knew he couldn't change her mind. "Right, we'll just have to make do then, won't we?"

Nareia looked at him in suspicion, but Spike just led her down a dark alley with a smirk on his face. He cornered a young man who had obviously been in a fight, and was dazed. Nareia looked away as Spike fed, but she could almost feel the blood flowing into his mouth, and by the time the blond vampire had finished, Nareia was almost drooling.

When he had discarded his dinner, he led Nareia away to where he lived, in an old church, saying, "Nice and juicy that one, you should have tasted him." All that he got in return was a glare.

Chuckling, Spike led Nareia down the stairs, to the crypt. "I presume you have some idea how I'm not going to go hungry tonight, since you won't let me do my own hunting," Nareia growled at him.

Spike looked at her, taking in every inch of her body with his blue-grey eyes. *God, she was beautiful.* Spike had forgotten that in the long years since he had last seen her. It was the main reason that he had fed from her when she had latched her fangs into his neck. Something about her huge brown eyes melted something inside him that not even Dru could touch.

Nareia gazed back at Spike as she felt his eyes travel over her body. She, herself, allowed her eyes to make an exploration of their own. The years had been kind to Spike. His body was lean and muscular, and he somehow looked better with that blond hair. Her hunger brought itself to the surface as she feasted on the contours of Spike's body, and she licked her lips.

Spike was brought out of his inspection by that movement, and he moved toward her slowly, saying softly, "Are we getting hungry, my wee pet?"

Nareia looked up at as he reached her. "I think I can help you there. I've had more than enough tonight to share," he added, and bent down, opening his neck to her.

Nareia looked at him shock. "Are you sure? Do you want a repeat of last time?"

Spike shook his head softly, "No, I want to finish what we started."

Nareia nodded in understanding. Feeding from another vampire, as she had told Buffy and Willow, was generally an act between a sire and a childe, or lovers, and quite often a sire and childe were lovers. It was, for vampires, a very erotic act, and, all those years ago, Nareia and Spike had had a hard time restraining themselves from going any further than they had done in front of Angelus.

Taking one last look into Spike's blue-grey eyes, and hearing his soft words in her ear, "Go on, Nareia, just bloody do it," she morphed into vamp mode, and gently bit into Spike's neck.

The blood that flowed into her mouth was rich and young, and Nareia relished it, having not had such good blood in a long time. As she was finishing her drink, she felt Spike morph against her face, and he, too, bit gently into her neck. The emotions that that brought up in her were ones that she had kept locked away for a long time, and now she tried to restrain them, from habit.

"No, no, love, let it out," Spike whispered to her, licking the wound that he had made.

Shuddering, Nareia reciprocated, trailing her tongue across the bloody pinpricks she had made in his neck. Putting on her human face, Nareia moved her attentions from Spike's neck to his jaw, getting a groan from him for her efforts.

Nareia felt his strong arms around her, picking her up, and taking her somewhere, she didn't know where. At that moment, she was tracing every inch of his jaw, and, when she had finished, moved up to his cheeks.

Suddenly, Nareia felt the sensation of falling, and then she landed softly on a bed, with Spike's heavy weight on top of her. He broke off her tongue's progress by pushing himself off her. His face was back to normal as well.

"Oh bloody hell, Nareia. We should have done this a long time ago," he growled as he lent down to kiss her. 

As soon as she felt his lips on hers, her arms went up round his neck involuntarily, and their tongues hungrily devoured each other's mouths. Spike's hands found their way to Nareia's blouse, and began unbuttoning it. Nareia felt him doing this, and helped him shrug her out of it. Then she began to pay attention to his shirt, which they had off in a short space of time. 

When she felt their skin touch, she gasped, and Spike took the opportunity to kiss her again, while reaching down with his hand to undo her jeans. "Oh, no, you're not going to get away with doing that," Nareia giggled as she copied his move, feeling his erection as she undid his jeans.

Spike groaned as she pulled them down, and then wriggled out of her own. "Come here," he growled as he pulled her towards him.

"With pleasure," Nareia smiled sexily as she sat herself down on his lap.

The two vampires were gentle with each other, as much as they could be while trying to make up for all the repression that both had gone through during their separation. They felt each other in no way they had had with any other lover; it was as though they were inside each other, in more ways than one.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Some time later, Nareia woke to find Spike's arm around her, keeping her up against his muscular body. Tracing the muscles on his chest with her hand, she shook her head in amazement. If she had known it would have been as intense as it had been, she would have tracked him down much sooner.

Spike woke up to find Nareia moving her hand across his chest sensuously, arousing in him feelings he never thought he would have again, after Dru. But these were more intense than they had ever been with his Princess, and he knew that he would never let Nareia leave him again. "Hi, my wee pet. Did you sleep well?"

Nareia looked up at him with those big brown eyes that he could drown in, and smiled sleepily, "I did, although I had a scary dream with a blond vampire in it. He was trying to do all sorts of ghastly things to me….wait a minute, that was you," she grinned wickedly.

Spike smiled back, and kissed her soundly on the forehead, "Watch it, pet, or I might just try out some of those ghastly things."

Nareia growled at him sexily, "That'd be nice."

Spike then devoured her mouth with his, and they started to explore their bodies all over again.


	2. Part 2

PART TWO:

Nareia woke with a start. Spike sat up beside her, his strong arms wrapped around her tight. They looked at each other with startled eyes. The images of dead and dying people were still in their minds, and the screams were ringing in their ears.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Spike asked fiercely.

Nareia shook her head, her brow furrowed in thought. Even in his state of worry, Spike still noticed how beautiful the vampire beside him was.

"A dream, that's all it was, a bloody dream," Spike muttered, flinging the bed covers away, and swinging his legs off of the mattress. Nareia couldn't but help noticing how sexy his legs were.

"It wasn't just any dream, and you know it," Nareia followed him out of bed, and caught up her blouse from where it had been flung. Spike, too, was dressing quickly.

"If it wasn't _just any dream, then what did it mean?" he growled back at her. He didn't like not knowing what was going on. _

"I don't know!" Nareia yelled back. "At least," her voice quietened, and Spike came back to stand beside her.

"What, love, what?"

Nareia took a deep breath, "I think it was a foretelling dream. The fact that we both had it reinforces that."

Spike took hold of her shoulders in strong hands, and turned her to face him. Her upturned head revealed worried eyes. "If you're right, we're in trouble."

"Yep. What fun!" Nareia grinned suddenly, and grabbed up her jeans from the floor. She put them on, hopping about the floor, and laughing at Spike's bemused expression.

"Bloody hell, girl, what's wrong with you? You've got a soul, you're not meant to be relishing this. Even I'm not, and I'm not exactly Mr. Bloody Nice Guy," Spike shouted at her.

Nareia immediately became sombre again, "I know. Sorry, irony moment. But we can't be sure yet. That witch friend of the Slayer might be able to tell us more."

Spike frowned. "How did you know Red was a witch? And why do we have to go and see her?"

"I'm a Druid myself, remember, I can recognise someone like me miles away. And someone with magic running through their veins is likely to have been effected just like us. And besides, we said we would meet them later to discuss the whole Hellmouth thing," Nareia pointed out.

Spike grunted, grabbed his jacket, and led the way out of the door quickly. "Lucky we were at it all day, pet, otherwise we'd be toast."

Nareia slipped him a sidelong grin, which he only just caught, and her thoughts skittered past his mind, making him shudder in anticipation of the next day. Then, they went black again, and she said, "Perhaps this dream was to do with the Hellmouth?"

"Maybe," Spike postulated, "it isn't a pup, whatever it is, for it to have sent out images that strong."

Nareia shuddered, "Yeah, I think the shit will officially hit the fan soon."

Spike gave Nareia a queer look, and then led her to the apartment.

As they were walking along, Spike felt Nareia's confusion in his mind, "What, pet, what's wrong?"

"Well, I just don't understand why you are having anything to do with the Slayer and her friends, and why she hasn't staked you yet," Nareia said, frowning.

Spike shrugged nonchalantly, "I'm just too damn good for her." He smirked at the look that comment provoked from Nareia, and continued, "After Dru left, I came back here to seek the Gem of Amara. I found it, but once again, got my ass well and truly kicked by the bloody Slayer." Spike growled at the amused expression on Nareia's face, and glared at her. "Needless to say, she foiled my excellent plan, and I decided that drowning my sorrows would be a good idea. Sometime later, in a drunken haze, I remembered Red being a witch, and thought she could help me, cursing Dru, or something. When I got here, I felt as though I was waiting for something, and I ended up selling Buffy and her friends information about current demon activity. I guess that heralded your return," he finished with a sigh. "So there you go, the big bad is a traitor."

Nareia smiled softly, and hugged him as they walked, "I don't think so, Spike, you're just growing as a person, in as bad a way as possible," she added at the sight of his darkening face.

He just growled, and they walked in silence for a while, arms around each other comfortably. Then Spike told her about the rest of the Slayer's friends, and how to emotionally hurt each of them most.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy woke up out of her daydream with a start. Sweat was running down her face and back. Willow was beside her, her worried green eyes searching Buffy's face, "Are you OK, Buffy?"

Buffy looked up at her friend, stunned and a little disorientated, "Didn't you have it, too?"

Willow frowned, "What? What's wrong?"

Buffy got up from her desk, rubbing her forehead. "I had a very strange dream. It was really crappy. I thought you might have had it as well."

Willow shook her head, "I was in a trance, trying to do this stupid fairy light spell." The redhead savagely aimed a kick at the bowl on the floor.

Buffy shook her head at her friend, "I don't understand why you won't let me buy normal Christmas lights to decorate our room with. I mean, you've been trying to master this spell for almost a week."

"That's the whole point. It's a stupid, miniscule spell, and I can't even get it to work," Willow put on her resolve face, and Buffy knew that, if they were to have lights in their room this Christmas, they were to be supernatural ones. "It will work, one day."

"But will it be before the holidays?" Buffy mumbled under her breath.

"Anyway, tell me about this dream. Your dreams generally mean something, Buffy, is there anything to worry about?" 

The Slayer looked at her earnest friend, and shook her head, "I don't know, I think we should go and talk to Giles first, before jumping to conclusions."

Willow nodded enthusiastically. "We were meant to be going to see him anyway, as Nareia was going to tell us what she knows about the Hellmouth," she reminded Buffy.

"Yeah, she's a character and a half, isn't she?" said Buffy, as they walked out of their flat.

~*~*~*~*~*~

In L.A., in a small apartment, a dark vampire awoke in the early evening with a start. Sitting up on his bed, he ran his hands through his hair, thinking about what had woken him up. 

Angel didn't normally have dreams that intense, or at least, if he did, they involved a certain Slayer. He got up and paced his bedroom, his face grim. Suddenly, he came to a decision, and dialled a number on his bedside phone.

"Cordelia? It's Angel. I'm going back to Sunnydale for a while, you and Wesley are going to have to cope with the case on your own."

There was a pause, and Angel's face had a long-suffering look about it. "Cordelia, you'll have to. There's something I need to do."

After a few more minutes, Angel said shortly, "I'll call you when I get there." He sighed as he put the phone down. That girl could be so infuriating!

The vampire began to pack some things into a small bag, and soon he was making his way out of the apartment, to the underground car park, where his open-top car was waiting for him.

It wasn't long before he was speeding his way down the road towards the Hellmouth, and his Slayer.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Giles was in research mode already when Willow, Buffy and Xander, who they had met up with, arrived. He looked up as the three walked in. "So," the Watcher said, taking off his glasses, "anything to report?"

"Yeah, Spike's got a friend," Buffy answered, sitting down on the table.

"A friend? What sort of friend would we be talking about here, a demon-kind of friend, or a nice, sugar-coated friend?" Xander asked.

"A vampire-with-a-soul sort of friend," Willow replied.

Xander's brow wrinkled, "I thought Deadboy was the only one of those around here." He ignored Buffy's look at the mention of Angel.

"Apparently not," the Slayer pointed out.

"Hmm," Giles sat in thought, his glasses in the corner of his mouth.

"What, hmm? Is that a good hmm, or a bad hmm?" Buffy asked her Watcher.

"Pardon? Oh, sorry," Giles shook himself. "Tell me more about this ensouled vampire of Spike's."

So Willow and Buffy explained how they had met Nareia and how she claimed she had met Spike. When they mentioned the female vampire's name, Giles pursed his lips. "Okay, Giles, spit it out, what do you know about Nareia?" Buffy demanded, seeing the look on the librarian's face.

"I have heard of this vampire. All that you tell me is true, as far as it goes. I've read that she, wait, let me find the reference," and he dug around for an old brown book, much to the impatience of the teenagers. "Ah, here it is. She 'decimated the vampire population, starting with her sire, for many decades.'"

"So, how old is this chick, then?" Xander asked.

Giles found the page in his book, "I believe she would be about 126 years old."

"The same age as Spike," Willow added.

Giles nodded. "She would be a powerful ally, Buffy. She has always had a soul, so she would be better able to control her demon than perhaps even Angel."

Buffy's face darkened at the mention of her former lover, but she nodded in recognition at the fact that Nareia could be useful. "The only problem would be her attachment to Spike."

Giles shook his head, "I don't think that would be a problem. With Nareia in such close proximity, her conscience would control his demon. You might even be able to trust him, although I wouldn't suggest with your life."

Buffy snorted, and Willow smiled, "Well, I guess we just wait then."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Where are they?" Buffy paced impatiently.

Giles looked up from where he was reading. "I'm sure they will turn up sooner or later. Stop worrying, Buffy."

"Hmph!" The Slayer continued to stalk the room.

Suddenly, the door was flung open, and Spike strode in. Nareia stood outside, with an uncomfortable look on her face. Giles looked up. "Oh, uh, sorry, do come in."

"Speak of the devils," Xander muttered.

"Well, we're here now, we can start," Spike said with a smirk on his face.

"Spike!" Nareia growled at him. Then she turned to Willow. "Willow, did you have a strange dream earlier today?"

Willow started to shake her head, and then Buffy interjected, "Wait a minute, how do you know about the dream?"

"What dream, what are you talking about? Why didn't you mention this to me before, Buffy?" Giles took off his glasses and stood up.

Nareia turned and looked at the Watcher. "I take it you are Giles. I'm Nareia," and she held out her hand to him.

Giles took it, and kissed it. "It is a great honour to meet you. I have read a lot about you."

Spike made a sick noise in the background. "Back to the bloody point."

"For once I agree with Blondie, what's going on here?" Xander added.

Buffy and Nareia related the dreams that they had had, and Spike added, "It definitely has something to do with that bloody Hellmouth. I can feel that there's something trying to get out."

"If it can't get out, it might still be able to influence the outside world," Nareia pointed out. 

"Giles, we have to find out what this thing is," Buffy said.

"Right, research mode," Willow ordered, and all the teenagers and the Watcher took to the books, and the computer, to the astonishment of Nareia, and the amusement of Spike.

"Are they like this all the time?" the petite vampire asked her blond counterpart.

"Yeah, pet, always bloody at the books."

Suddenly, Nareia felt Spike tense up beside her. She looked at him worriedly, but then she felt the presence as well. She looked quickly at the humans crowded around the table, heads buried in books, or, as in Willow's case, a laptop. They hadn't appeared to have noticed Spike's uneasiness, although Buffy was frowning.

"Well, if it isn't the bloody poof himself? What brought _you here, daddy?" Spike suddenly said softly._

Nareia knew as soon as he had spoken where she had felt that brooding presence before, and she turned slowly to see Angelus standing just inside the door of Giles' apartment.

"Nice to see you again, too, Spike. How have you been keeping? Well, I trust," the dark vampire didn't try to conceal his sarcasm. Then he turned his dark gaze upon Nareia. "Long time, no see, Nareia."

Nareia smiled softly, and looked away, causing Spike to growl softly. "Yeah."

Buffy and the others had taken in this quiet, quick conversation in shocked silence. Then Angel turned to Buffy and Giles briskly, "I had a dream today, and think you should know about it."

"Oh, bloody hell."

Everyone turned to Nareia as she muttered those words. She didn't flinch under the close scrutiny. "If Angelus dreamt the same thing as we did, then this thing has got a long distance influence, which is anything but good."

Angel turned to Nareia, "It's Angel now, and what do you mean, '_the same thing as we did'?"_

Spike interjected, "Nareia and I dreamt the same dream that the Slayer did. About some bloody psycho demon trying to take over the world."

"Give or take most of the gory details," Nareia added.

Angel's face darkened. "This is bad, this is very bad."

Spike snorted derisively, "Understatement of the year, pop."

Angel glared at the blond vampire, and finally, after a few tension-filled minutes, Nareia stepped between them. "Okay, cool it, guys. We're going to have to work together, so you two are going to have to reconcile your differences, even if it's only temporarily."

The two vampires turned their gaze upon their diminutive female counterpart. Finally, Angel smiled slightly, and said, "She's right."

Nareia set her brown eyes on Spike, and finally he, too, gave in with a small growl. "All right, I'll bloody reconcile," he mumbled. "But, remember, once this is over, it's back to business as usual."

The humans were observing this with interest, and Giles gave Buffy a knowing look. He was right. Nareia could keep Spike's demon in check. Buffy returned the look with a shrug.

Spike growled softly in his throat again, and sat down opposite Nareia. Little did anyone else know, except perhaps Angel, that Nareia had been sending all sorts of threats to him while he and Angel were facing it off. He could have resisted longer, but in the end, he knew she would have won him over. She was the most stubborn vampire he had ever met.

"So," Giles gave each person around the table a book, "get to work searching for something that sounds like it could have come from one of the dreams." All heads were soon bent over various books, hard at work. The vampires and the Slayer knew that time was of the essence. They could feel the demon, or whatever it was, straining at the Hellmouth as they researched.


	3. Part 3

PART THREE: 

"Bloody hell."

"Oh shit."

"This isn't good."

Buffy, Willow, Giles, and Xander looked at Spike, Nareia, and Angel in turn. "What? What _isn't good, Angel?" Buffy asked._

"This," Angel passed the book that he had been reading over to the Slayer.

"'Onet, a chaos demon. Can sometimes affect other demons using unconscious thought.' Vampires, being one, I guess," Buffy looked up. "Hey, wait a minute! Does that make me a demon as well? 'Cos I don't want to be a demon."

"Buffy, you're the Slayer, you're different," Giles replied patiently.

"Ah, Slayer-stuff strikes again, huh? What have you found, Nareia?" Buffy asked.

"This demon has been around a while. And he bears a grudge. The last time he tried to get out of the Hellmouth, he got punished, badly," Nareia's brown eyes locked onto the Slayer. "By a Slayer with a bit of a mean streak. I think he may be out to get revenge."

"And to take over the world in the process," Spike added. "And what's more, he's got a bloody good chance of doing so. Not only is he an enraged chaos demon, he's one with a lot of knowledge in the cursing department."

Buffy looked puzzled. "The cursing department? So he swears at me, I'll just kick his ass."

"Umm, Buffy, I think he might mean of the nasty, magical, killing variety," Willow interjected.

"Oh, that's not good. Right, so what do we do?"

"Hide, give him what he wants?" Xander suggested quickly.

Giles looked at the teenager. "He wants Buffy and the world, do you want to give him that?"

"Maybe not," Xander looked around at the others. "Well, no-one else was coming up with any suggestions," he defended himself, somewhat half-heartedly.

"When is he likely to break out?" Buffy asked.

"Well, he's already influencing quite far afield, so he must be pretty close to breaking the seal. I would say in the next day or so," Angel answered.

Spike groaned, "Why do I always get myself into messes like these?"

Nareia grinned, "Perhaps it's living next to the Hellmouth that does it." Then her pale face went serious. "Buffy, he's not going to want to kill you. From what I understand, the other Slayer wasn't exactly Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, and he didn't appreciate what she did to him. He's looking for vengeance, and, with his knowledge of curses, I would bet that he would use one of them. We have to stop him before he gets out, and does some serious damage."

Angel nodded in agreement, "Once out, he'd be almost unstoppable."

"Well, on that cheerful note, I think it's time we went out on Patrol," Buffy jumped to her feet.

"Oh good, I was getting hungry," Spike commented, and smirked when he drew a glare from the blonde Slayer.

"Uh, Buffy, I can't go out on Patrol tonight, I promised Anya I would help her with some work," Xander apologised.

"Work, Xander? Since when do you do work?" Willow asked in undisguised suspicion.

"It's biology. I've always enjoyed biology," he answered with a smirk.

Giles smiled, "Yes, so did I, when I was your age." He returned the looks of the teenagers innocently, pointing out, "I was young once too, you know."

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Oh, please. Ok, go home to Anya, I'm sure we can manage without you. We'll go out in pairs. Spike and Nareia, check out the park, and Spike, if you kill anyone, I'll stake your bleach blond ass."

"I'll keep an eye on him, don't worry," Nareia grinned.

Buffy smiled back. She couldn't but help like the brunette vampire. "Angel, you and Willow check out around town. Giles and I are going to sweep the cemeteries." Buffy clapped her hands, "Come on, guys, let's move it."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Will you find your snack already?" Nareia hissed. "I can manage this long without food, why can't you?"

"Because I'm bigger and better than you, that's why, pet," Spike smirked back.

The two vampires strode down a dark alley, and finally Spike found what he had been looking for. After his feed, they left for the park. Nareia thought that she had enjoyed the sensations she felt when Spike had fed a little too much, and was beginning to think that being around Spike was doing her demon too much good.

"I wonder how everyone else is doing?" she mused.

"Probably a damn sight better than us, pet. We haven't found anything."

"And this is a bad thing, how?" Nareia glared at the blond vampire beside her.

"Oh, come on, love. Don't tell me your demon is that inhibited that you doesn't like the idea of a little carnage?" Spike grinned. He knew how his feeding affected her.

Nareia shot an evil glance Spike's way. "But not as much as this demon intends to wreak."

Spike grunted in acknowledgement, and the two vampires continued their Patrol in silence.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"This is bad, isn't it, Angel? I mean, worse than when you were Angelus returned bad?" Willow whispered.

Angel turned his dark gaze to the redhead beside him. "Yeah. Although we did have the same agenda. I obsessed about the Slayer, and then wanted to take over the world. Fortunately for you, he doesn't know about Buffy's friends, so we might be better off," Angel replied softly.

"If we catch him soon enough," Willow added.

"Yeah, if."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Giles, something's up. The only vamps I've seen all night are Angel, Spike, and Nareia. Something is definitely not right," Buffy said anxiously, clutching at a stake.

"Yes, you may be right. I think we should keep looking. I believe the time might be closer than Angel thought," Giles replied.

"Now there's a comforting thought," Buffy muttered.

The Watcher and his Slayer cautiously walked into a dark church. "Why can't these places have lights?" Buffy protested.

"Buffy!" Giles hissed. "Shut up!"

"Sorry, just trying to make light-hearted conversation."

"Now is not the time nor the place."

Buffy frowned and walked over to a church pew. A strange green glow was coming from it. "What's this?" She reached out her hand to pick up the scroll-like object that was emanating the light.

Giles turned round. "Buffy, no, don't touch it, it could be dangerous!" He rushed to the blonde's side, and grabbed her arm, just as her hand wrapped around it.

There was a flash of green lightning, and both fell down with a thud, unconscious, Buffy's hand still clutching the cylinder.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"What the bloody hell was that?" Nareia and Spike asked in unison, as a lightning bolt came out of nowhere.

"Well, whatever it was, it wasn't natural. And in Sunnyhell, that isn't good," Spike added. "Come on, let's go." He grabbed Nareia's arm, and they ran back towards Giles's apartment.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Willow jumped, and grabbed Angel's arm. "What was that?"

Angel put his arm around Willow comfortingly, but was looking up at the night sky worriedly. "It was lightning."  
  


"I know that! Why, though? The sky is clear," Willow pointed out.

"I know. We should go back to Giles'. We can't have been the only ones to have seen that," Angel said, and he and the redhead headed back to the Watcher's home.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike and Nareia charged into the apartment. There was no one there. "They'd better get here soon," Nareia said. "I have a bloody awful feeling about that lightning."

"Like it was caused by the demon breaking loose," Angel said from the doorway.

"Something like that," the female vampire agreed.

"Where's the Slayer?" Spike asked.

"She's not back yet? She should be the first back, what with having Giles on Patrol with her," Willow looked worried.

Spike shook his head. "Naw, she's probably gone to see if she could kill the thing herself. She always had an inflated opinion of herself."

"I hope she hasn't. She's no match for him unprepared," Angel was uneasy. It showed in that he had ignored Spike's jibe about Buffy.

"Well, maybe we should just wait awhile before getting worried?" Nareia suggested. "Come on, Spike, let's make some tea, I'm sure Giles will have some around here." Nareia got up, and dragged the blond vampire up with her.

Spike growled good-naturedly, and followed her into Giles' kitchen.

"The British and their tea," Willow rolled her eyes in mock despair.

Angel smiled faintly at her, and sat down beside her at the table. "Let's see if we can find out anything more about Onet."

Spike and Nareia returned shortly, to discover that Buffy and Giles had returned, looking very pale, and none too happy. Angel was stood up in front of the table, and in front of a very confused Willow. At first, Nareia and Spike were confused also, but then they took a closer look at Angel, and understood, and felt afraid, even though they were century old vampires.


	4. Part 4

PART FOUR: 

"Willow! Come here," Nareia held out her hand to the redhead. "We have to get you out of here."

"Yes, getting out of here is a bloody good idea. Let's go," Spike turned to leave.

"No!" Nareia grabbed his arm.

"What?"

"You have to stay with Angel. We'll meet up later. I'm sure you can handle it," Nareia looked into Spike's deep eyes intensely for a long moment.

Spike sighed. "Ok, pet. See you soon. And be careful," he added softly.

Nareia smiled weakly back at him, and led Willow away, all the while Buffy and Angel were facing off, and Giles standing behind the Slayer, watching intently.

Spike walked up to stand beside his sire. "Well, pop, looks like we're in it deep this time."

"You could say that," Angel returned shortly, as Buffy lunged at him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"What is going on, Nareia? Will you please tell me?" Willow panted as the vampire dragged her along.

"I don't have time to tell you now. Where is Xander going to be, we have to get him?"

Willow shot a confused look at Nareia, but took the lead, saying, "I'll take you to him, it's this way."

She led them to a small, white bungalow. Nareia charged in front of the witch, and banged on the door. Soon, a flustered Xander answered. "Yeah, what do you want?"

"You."

Xander looked surprised, and stammered, "Well, that's great, but I have a girlfriend and she…"

"Her too. Come on, we don't have much time," Nareia grabbed Xander and pulled him out of the door, letting Willow exchange a bewildered look with Anya before they followed her.

The vampire led them to an abandoned church. She shoved open a door, and beckoned them into the darkness.

Xander and Willow exchanged worried looks. "Is this a good idea, following a vampire into a dark church? Isn't this against all our principles?"

Willow shook her head. "I don't know what's going on, but I think we can still trust her. Come on," and she led the way behind Nareia.

Nareia was waiting for them at the bottom of some stairs. Candles and lamps were lit, showing the cosy environment. "This is Spike's place. Come on, do you want a drink?"

"No thanks, we don't drink blood," Xander answered.

Nareia smiled back at him, "I was actually going to offer you some lemonade, but if you don't want that…"

"Oh, ok, that'd be nice," Xander looked round. "It's quite a place, nice and dare I say, romantic?"

"Yeah, not what you'd expect from a vampire, especially a male one," Anya added.

Nareia handed them their drinks, and smiled softly, "Spike isn't exactly your ordinary vampire. There's more to him than most."

Willow nodded, "I think I know what you mean." She put her glass down. "But tell us what is going on, Nareia. What's happening, why are we here?"

Nareia sighed, and sat down on the sofa. "I think you should sit down." She waited until they had done so, and began, "It's quite simple really. Buffy and Giles are dead."

"But I saw them, they can't be dead," Willow protested. Then realisation dawned on her face as Nareia looked at her meaningfully. "You mean they are…"

"Vampires?" Xander shouted.

When Nareia nodded sadly, Willow, wide-eyed, quietly asked, "How could that have happened? We have to get them back, there has to be a way to get them back."

"I would guess that that bloody demon cursed them. In which case, there may be a chance of returning them to normal. I hope," the brunette vampire answered.

"How do you know that they weren't turned by another vampire?" Xander asked.

"Because Buffy's the Slayer, she wouldn't get turned, she'd stake them," Willow pointed out faithfully, and making a staking movement with her hand.

"And she and Giles didn't have any bite marks," Nareia added.

"How did you notice that?" Xander wondered.

"Us vampires notice things like that. It helps keep us out of trouble," Spike answered, coming down the stairs. His face was badly cut, and his left arm was hanging loosely. Angel was behind him, also badly bruised, and limping.

Nareia got up and strode over to them with haste. "Bloody hell. You two are really cut up. We have to sort you out. Willow, can you help me undress them? Anya, there's a kettle over there, boil up some water. Xander, there should be some towels around here somewhere. Try that cupboard there."

The two male vampires sat down gingerly, and let themselves be coddled. "It's a good job you're vampires, that's all I can say," Nareia said shortly.

"If we weren't, we'd be dead by now," Spike grunted. "A vampire Vampire Slayer is a little too strong for my liking."

Angel looked grim, "She's very powerful. She's still got her Slayer powers, and being a vampire enforces them. Giles isn't all sweetness and light either. He makes an excellent vampire."

"Tell me about it," Spike groaned as Nareia applied a wet cloth to his back. "Bloody librarian."

"So wait a minute. Let me get this straight. Buffy and Giles are vampires, cursed by this chaos demon?" Xander asked, handing Willow a bandage.

The three vampires nodded. "Can't we just reverse the curse?" Xander asked.

Nareia grimaced, "It isn't as simple as that. This demon is seriously up on his cursing, and some curses are irreversible. If it isn't an irreversible curse, there are still hundreds of ways that it could have been done, and we'd have to find the correct spell. It could take weeks."

"Weeks which we don't have," Angel said. "Buffy's after me at the moment, and I can't keep evading her forever, and, if I faced her alone, I'd be dust. She's too powerful even for me. After I'm done with, she'd probably go after you. And then, who knows? She has to be stopped."

"Angel's right, although I hate to admit it," Spike put in. "Even Giles is a nasty piece of work, and both of them together is a bloody disaster."

"If we can't find a spell that works, we'll have to dust them," Nareia said thoughtfully.

"What? Kill Buffy and Giles? You can't do that," Willow shouted. "There has to something else," she appealed in a small voice.

Nareia sighed, "As a last resort, we may have to. We can't afford to let those two loose on the world."

Angel looked tired, "She's right. Buffy and Giles aren't our only concern. There's another thing. You three shouldn't go back home. She may be looking for you, and I don't think she wants to drop in for cosy chat."

"You're best staying here," Nareia added.

"Hey, wait a bloody minute, this is my place," Spike protested.

"Precisely. Buffy doesn't know where you live, so she won't be able to find us here," Nareia pointed out.

Spike grunted, and kept silent, but he shot sulky looks at the female vampire as he sat opposite her.

"So, the only thing that stands between a nasty Slayer and Watcher and us dying a horrible death is three vampires?" Anya asked.

"That's about right," Angel nodded.

"Well, how ironic is that? Vampires protecting us from our friends," Willow said with a wry smile.

"You lot should get some rest," Nareia said, fetching some extra blankets. "You two as well," and she shooed the male vampires onto the bed, ignoring their protests. 

"I'm not letting him sleep in my bloody bed," Spike vowed.

"Spike, you have no choice. Just think of it as old times," Nareia grinned at him and winked.

"It had better not bloody well be, or else you'll be less one vampire in the morning," Spike threatened.

Angel barked a short laugh, but didn't say anything, instead climbing onto the bed, ignoring the hostile look from Spike.

"Good. Now you be good little boys, and rest. I'm going to study," Nareia turned and left them glaring at each other. Soon they were fast asleep on the bed, and the humans were sleeping on the two sofas that Spike had procured from somewhere.

Nareia set herself down at the desk, and fetched out some of Spike's books. Fortunately, the blond vampire enjoyed reading, and had a wide variety of books, a lot concerning magic and demons, and Nareia began desperately searching for a way to cure the Slayer and her Watcher.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy wandered around Giles' wrecked apartment restlessly. "I don't see why we can't go after them."

Giles looked up from his perusal of his weaponry, "Because we aren't ready for them yet. I know you're the Slayer, but not even you and I could fight them all on our own, without weapons," he pointed out, waving a crossbow at her.

Buffy crossed her arms sulkily, "Hmmph!"

"Plus, it's going to be light soon, we'd best get going," Giles got a bag and filled it with weapons. He handed it to Buffy on his way past her, himself carrying an axe and a crossbow.

"Where are we going?" the Slayer asked, as she followed her Watcher out his apartment door.

"Back to where we came from," he replied.

"Oh, of course," Buffy looked puzzled.

They made their way back towards the church where Buffy had discovered the cylinder. They entered the church confidently, and went down into the crypt. 

"Ah, you're here at last," a hollow voice came from a stone statue.

"Who are you?" Buffy asked.

"He's a manifestation of Onet," Giles answered, looking around the crypt. It was lit with candles, but there was no sign of anyone.

"Quite right, Ripper. Now, here's what I want you to do…" a rustle came from a corner of the crypt, and Buffy's head turned to it quickly, "Ah, but first, how about dinner?"

A whimper echoed round the stone walls. Giles leapt forward, and dragged forward a bedraggled couple who had been huddling in the corner.

Buffy licked her lips. "Ymmmm!"

Giles shoved the man to her. She caught him, and, giving Giles one last look, bent her head.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Nareia woke sometime later, Willow's hand on her shoulder. "Hey," the redhead said softly.

Nareia smiled back at her, "Hey, how you holding up?"

Willow shrugged, "Oh, good, you know. I think this is something we'll get out of, I mean we face stuff like this every day, right?"

The female vampire just smiled weakly back at her. "You want to help?" she asked, as she was passing a book over.

"Yeah, sure," Willow took it, and sat down beside her.

There was silence for a while, as the two women studied. Spike and Angel stirred on the bed, and Nareia looked over at them, making sure they were all right.

Willow noticed her look, "Listen, I hope you don't mind, but, can I ask you…"

Nareia smiled warmly, "Go ahead, Willow."

"Well, what's the story with this thing between you and Spike?"

Nareia looked up at her, "You mean, the thought thing?"

Willow nodded slightly.

"Well, Spike and I were sired on the same day, at the same time, it turns out. It's because of this that we have this connection. We were drawn to each other before the feeding. That was probably the reason I bit him, it's not something I would have done normally," Nareia sat, looking thoughtful. "I guess we are sort of twins, in a weird, non-related way."

Willow had an interested look on her face, "Well, that's really cool, I think. I guess sharing thoughts with a vampire might not be the height of coolness, but still."

Nareia shrugged, "You get used to it. If something happened to Spike, I don't know what I'd do, it'd be like a part of me had been torn out."

"Thanks, pet, I always knew you loved me," Spike came up behind her, and put his hand on her shoulder.

Nareia turned and glared at him, "I never said I loved you, you pillock!"

Spike just grinned at her, picked up a book, and sat down at the table. The images he was getting from Nareia told a different story than her look.

Angel got up not long after, and Spike shifted in his chair, uncomfortable with the older vampire's presence. Spike grimaced inwardly at the pain that shot through him. Nareia jumped slightly, her mind suddenly feeling his pain. She set her dark eyes on him. "Spike, take your shirt off," her voice was commanding.

"Why, Nareia, in front of these mortals, I didn't think you were that sort."

Nareia growled at him, "Just take your bloody shirt off." She turned to Angel, who was trying not to smirk in the background. "You, too." She hid the smile on her face at the dark vampire's shocked look.

Willow stared at Nareia, unbelieving. The female vampire, catching her look, grinned, "What? I can't indulge in a little ménage-a-trios?" As she said this, she got up and stood behind Spike, her hands on his bare chest.

Willow's eyes went wide, and she stammered slightly. Nareia grinned again, "Don't worry, I'll leave you the souled one," and she winked. Willow went bright red, and she shot Angel a sidelong glance. He was standing there with a small smile on his face, his shirt in his hand. Willow had to admit to herself that the vampire wasn't lacking in the looks department. That thought caused her further embarrassment.

Nareia laughed a tinkling laugh, "Sorry, Willow, just kidding. Their wounds need tending. Could you find some healing herbs, I'm sure there are some around here, in that cupboard, I think." She directed her to a small cupboard near the sink. Sure enough, housed inside were numerous herbs. There was definitely more to the blond vampire than met the eye.

Willow carried the useful ones back to the table. Spike had stood up, and Nareia was growling at him. "You're too bloody tall to stand up. Lay down on the sofa, NOW!"

Spike grinned down at the petite vampire, but moved towards the sofa. "That's better." Her gaze moved onto the silent vampire standing beside her. "You, on the other one." Angel didn't bother to protest.

Nareia walked up to Willow and rolled her eyes, "Men!" Willow smiled in agreement. "Right, Willow, you tend to Angel, I don't want Spike accidentally hurting you."

"Right, ok," Willow walked towards Angel, nervous about the proximity of his muscled torso. She berated herself harshly, and steeled herself. Angel sensed her discomfort, and smiled warmly up at her. Willow found herself smiling back, and suddenly she was at ease.

Nareia was massaging Spike's back softly, and it was all he could do to stop himself from turning over and grabbing her. Nareia gritted her teeth. She knew what he was thinking, and the images flashing through her head were not all his.

"Right!" Nareia stood up quickly to relieve the sexual tension in the air. "You're done. Let's wake up the sleepyheads." She walked over to where Xander and Anya were sleeping, Anya's head resting on Xander's head. She shook them awake.

"Right, you guys, go and have showers or wash or whatever, then we'll talk," Nareia instructed them. 

Spike muttered at her, "This is _my place, remember that."_

"Spike, will you please shut up, for now?" Nareia looked at him, exasperated.

Spike shrugged his shoulders, feeling the tension that had been in them earlier gone from Nareia's excellent massage. Thoughts of what he was going to do to the vampire to get her back for that went through his mind, and Nareia felt them skittering through hers as well. She gave him an evil eye, but then winked as she walked off, back to her books.

Spike groaned, and went to put on a new shirt. That girl was definitely under his skin. 

Nareia turned to Angel, "You'd better put a shirt on too, before something else bad happens." Spike started to growl, but stopped when he caught the thought that was passing through Nareia's mind.

Soon, everyone was sitting round the table. "You lot have to go back to Giles' and get weapons, books, anything that you think might be useful. Food would probably be a good idea as well, and some of your clothes, things like that. You're going to be staying for a while, I think," Nareia told the humans bluntly.

She turned to the redhead, "Willow, I want you to be in charge of getting the books, you probably have the best idea of what we might need. Xander, weapons are your department. Anya, help on both counts. Your demon knowledge could be invaluable."

"Are you sure about this, Nareia?" Willow asked.

Nareia nodded, and Angel put in, "Go, now, we don't have that much time."

The three humans left the church quickly, and the vampires were left standing there, looking grimly at each other. A lot rided on Willow finding the right book.


	5. Part 5

PART FIVE:

The three vampires sat around the table, researching, and not looking at each other. Or, rather, Spike and Angel were not looking at each other. Nareia was silently grinding her teeth at the animosity in the room. Finally, she put her book down none too gently and stood up, causing them to jump.

"Right, I've had enough. Will you two let whatever it is out of your systems, so we can get on with researching?"

The two male vampires just stared at her. "Oh, bloody hell. I swear I'll stake you both if you don't talk!" Then she went silent. She was catching images from Spike, and they were coming hard and fast. Nareia groaned, "Angel, could you please tell this poor excuse for a demon what happened between us all those years ago?"

Spike growled, and stood up to stand behind Nareia, his hands on her shoulders, waiting for Angel's answer.

His reaction was to sigh, and stand up. "Pretty much nothing," he admitted as he stood in front of Nareia and Spike.

Spike's eyes narrowed, "Pretty much? As in the same 'pretty much' that happened between you and Buffy, and brought Angelus back?"

Angel, ignoring the jibe, shrugged, and looked down at Nareia, "We flirted, she seduced me, but nothing happened."

Spike spun Nareia round, "You _seduced that poof?"_

"Well, yeah, kind of," Nareia admitted. "But," she continued before Spike could add anything, "I was only playing him at his own game. I needed to get into his confidence, and he wasn't exactly the easiest vampire to do that with. He's smarter than most. I guess I intrigued him, because I wasn't like any other female vampire he'd met. But, _nothing happened. He didn't even bite me. You were the first," she added softly._

"I was?" Spike asked, looking down at her. His grip shifted from her shoulders to her waist.

"Yeah, and Angelus and I never had anything going for us, unlike you and me when we were together."

"Wait a minute, when were you two together?" Angel, who had walked away, turned quickly. "Apart from the whole biting incident, which I don't want to go into."

"We sort of sneaked around a bit behind your back, but nothing happened until that evening when you made her angry," Spike said with pleasure.

"You sneaked around behind my back, with him?" Angel asked, incredulous.

Nareia nodded, "Well, yeah. It's not like you were the faithful dog either, Angel! Besides, there was something about William that puzzled me. Now I know it was our bond, but I didn't then."

The two male vampires stared at each over the top of Nareia's head, both faces set firm.

"Right, well, that was bracing. Are we done now, can we get back to business with a lighter heart?" Nareia said, with somewhat forced cheer, trying to break the tension still between them.

Angel sighed, and drew a hand through his hair. "I will never understand women."

Spike laughed, and let Nareia go. He walked over to Angel, and slapped him companionably, albeit hard, on his back. "You and me both."

They grinned slightly at each other, and sat back down to read the books, the air having been relieved of a considerable amount of tension.

Nareia shook her head slightly, and sat down to join them, her knee touching Spike's comfortably. She would never understand _men!_

~*~*~*~*~*~

Willow, Xander and Anya walked cautiously into Giles's apartment, already carrying their clothes and food supplies, having visited their homes. "Come on, we have to hurry," Willow urged the other two on. "Xander, weapons. Anya, come and help me look for books."

The two girls scoured the ex-Watcher's bookshelves. Soon, they were drawing books off the shelves, and a pile was rising on the sofa. Xander was busy, too, gathering a selection of weapons from Giles's weapon closet.

"By the way, just thought it deserved a mention, but half of the closet's contents are missing. You don't suppose a passing burglar could have taken them?" Xander said hopefully.

Willow grimaced, and Xander looked mournful, "No, I didn't think so."

"Right, we're done here. There's nothing else here that could be of any use," Anya said brusquely.

Willow looked back at the shelves, "It doesn't look as though any of the books are missing. I hope that's a good sign."

"Right, I've got all the weapons all of us can cope with. Let's go," Xander picked up his bag, and handed another to Anya. The three teenagers left the apartment loaded with books, weapons, clothes, and food.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Nareia sat between Angel and Spike silently, reading. Suddenly, she looked up from her book. "Spike, what did you mean when you said that Angelus had come back? And what was the big deal with Buffy?" she turned to the dark vampire.

Spike's eyebrows rose, "You mean, you don't know?"

Nareia looked between the two, "Know what?"

"That Angel and the Slayer were _in love and when they shagged, Angel lost his soul, and became sadistic again," Spike supplied._

Angel growled at Spike's lack of delicacy, but said nothing to deny the blond vampire's words. 

"You lost your soul? What was the deal with that?" Nareia asked, curious.

"One moment of perfect happiness, and _poof, all gone," Spike answered with a grin._

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Angel didn't look amused. He turned to Nareia, who was still looking confused, "I fed from a gypsy girl, whose family cursed me with my soul. But there was a clause; if I ever experienced total happiness, I would lose my soul again." He looked at the brunette closely, "I guess that never applied to you?"

Nareia shook her head, "My family didn't want me to suffer, for a start. And, I'm not evil yet, and I would say that I've experienced a few moments of true happiness," Underneath the table, Spike squeezed her knee with his hand. "I wonder…" Nareia trailed off, a faraway look in her eyes. Then she shook her head, "No, never mind, it can wait." 

Before she had a chance to explain what she meant, they heard the humans returning. "Here you are, books galore!" Xander said as he dumped a pile on the table next to the ones the vampires had been studying. Anya and Willow added to the pile, and Xander stacked weapons beside one of the sofas. 

Angel and Spike got up to investigate the weapons. Spike lifted up a particularly vicious-looking knife. "Hmm, this looks like it could do some lovely damage. Maybe rip out some intestines, and then move up to the lungs and heart." While he was describing the route he would take, he was illustrating on Xander, waving the knife a few inches away from Xander's body. Xander's eyes were wide, and he swallowed in fright. Anya stood beside him, shaking in fear that something would happen to her dear Xander.

Nareia rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She knew what Spike was doing, and approved. It was essential that these humans didn't take him for granted. He was still soulless.

Angel, too, ignored Spike, and eventually, Spike ended his game with Xander with a grin, and threw the knife down with the other weapons. "Quite a collection here."

"Yeah, well, there would have been more, but a lot were missing," Xander said, having recovered from his fright.

Angel looked up from the crossbow he was perusing, "Do you know what was missing?"

Xander shook his head, "Buffy and Giles were the only ones that really knew what was in that cupboard."

"Is there anyone else that either of them would attack, besides you lot?" Nareia asked, from where she and Willow were arranging the books on the table for easier accessibility.

Anya frowned, and shook her head, but Willow looked worried, "Oh, Riley! Buffy might go after him."

"And her mother," Xander put in.

Willow shook her head, "Mrs. Summers is out of town on an art gallery thing."

"Who's Riley?" Nareia asked, puzzled.

"Uh, he's, uh, sort of her boyfriend, in a non-physical sense," Willow explained, all the time eying Angel.

Nareia looked from Willow to Angel, and understood, "Right, well, does he know about Buffy being the Slayer? I mean, if someone tries to explain to him what has happened, will he believe them?"

Xander nodded vigorously, "Oh yeah."

Willow added, "Riley is a member of what is called "The Initiative." It's a military operation that captures vampires, demons of any sort, and experiments on them."

Nareia shook her head in wonder, "Is no-one in this town normal?"

"Not really," Anya shrugged.

"I think we should just leave GI-Joe to Buffy," Spike offered with venom in his voice.

Nareia frowned at him. "I was captured by them, and it was only by my cunning that I managed to escape," Spike answered her unspoken query.

Nareia repressed a smile, although she knew that Spike was probably right in explaining his escape. When he tried hard enough, and thought it through, Spike was a slippery customer. Also, she was getting images from him regarding the Initiative, and his escape, so she got the gist. "We should still tell him," Nareia decided.

"But what if he wants the Initiative to capture Buffy and Giles, and kills them before we find the reversing spell?" Xander pointed out.

Angel barked out a short laugh, "Good luck to them, I say. They'd never be able to capture those two."

Willow nodded in agreement, "Buffy and Giles would outsmart them. They know what they would be up against, whereas the Initiative haven't got a clue."

"So what are we going to do?" Anya asked impatiently.

Everybody looked at everyone else, unable to make a decision. "Wait a minute," Anya said suddenly. "Didn't Buffy say that Riley was going home early for Christmas?"

Willow suddenly smiled her crooked smile, "So he won't be here."

"And we won't have to worry about telling the Initiative anything!" Xander grinned.

"Right, I guess that's that," Nareia sat down again on the table edge, suddenly weary. "Back to work, guys." They all moved to various places around the table, gathering books in front of them. Spike stood in front of Nareia, and placed his hands in her shoulders. She looked up into his deep, blue-grey, concerned eyes. She shook her head silently. Something was wrong, and she couldn't define what it was.

Then, she was struck by a flash of pain scouring through her head. She groaned loudly, and fell forwards into Spike's arms, who was also falling to the floor as he caught her. Nareia caught a glimpse of Angel falling sideways off his chair through the pain in her head.

Xander jumped up, "What's going on?"

"I think they're having another foretelling vision!" Willow stood up and went to squat next to Angel, who was writhing on the floor. She looked up, worried. "If they're having them while they're awake, this demon is getting closer to breaking out." 

Xander, Willow, and Anya stared at each other in dismay, while Angel, under Willow's arms, continued to start fretfully, and Spike and Nareia lay, curled up in each other's arms, expressions of pain apparent on their faces.

A flash of an amphitheatre. Underground. Vampires everywhere. Except they weren't vampires. Something was wrong.

Flash to the centre of the arena. Loud noises banging against their heads.

Vampires fighting each other in the sand. A tall, middle-aged one. Giles! A fat policeman, oozing power and confidence – a Chief of Police perhaps.

Fighting, to the death. Stake, through the heart of the fat vampire. 

They felt the pain of the stake, and knew they were going to die. Except, they didn't. He didn't. Just stood there, looking mad.

Giles standing, arms up in victory. Crowd cheering, sound smashing against their brains.

Flash to blonde, standing, evil look in eye. Buffy!

As soon as it had started, it stopped. The three vampires sat up quickly, looking around them, and feeling their chests. Spike stood up slowly, helping Nareia up as he did so. Angel stood up with the help of Willow. The three clutched their heads as they sat down cautiously. "What the bloody hell was that?" Spike whispered loudly, and groaning as the pain hit his head again.

"Another vision," Nareia answered softly. "Anya, could you get some alcohol, please? I think there's some by the bed."

"It was so real," Angel said softly, holding his hand to his chest in wonder.

"What was it?" Anya asked, as she poured out the alcohol into three glasses and handed them to the recovering vampires.

Nareia frowned, "We got staked. It…I felt the stake sliding through my body, but, there isn't any damage."

"They're bloody immortal," Spike growled.

"In the true sense of the word," Angel added.

Xander's eyes widened, "You mean, they can't be killed?"

"Well, at least not by staking. There's so much we don't know about this demon, and this specific curse," Nareia shook her head.

"We already know that they can't be staked. That's more than we knew a few minutes ago," Willow pointed out optimistically.

"Great," Spike grunted, and downed his drink. Angel and Nareia quickly followed suit.

"What now?" Xander asked cautiously.

"I say you get off your butts and start looking for curses that could render a Slayer a vampire without killing her, and also causing everybody under the curse to be bloody immortal," Spike suggested softly, his head buried in his hands.

"Right, let's look," Anya led her boyfriend to the table, and they both began to scour through the books they had collected from Giles's apartment.

Willow stood watching the vampires recover from their ordeal. "Perhaps you three should get some sleep. I mean, we won't be going out tonight, and you'll have to, I guess, so rest, and sleep would be a good idea. It might help you as well," she stammered under their intense attention. Silently, she wondered why vampires always had such intense eyes when they were in their human form.

Finally, Nareia nodded slowly, "You're right, Willow, again," and she smiled warmly at the Wiccan. "We'll do just that." Nareia attempted to get up, and managed, sort of. She stood very unsteadily on her feet, and did not look like she was going anywhere, until Spike stood beside her, supporting her.

They made their way to the bed, and Angel collapsed on the larger sofa, asleep immediately, exhausted from the mental activity. Willow pulled a blanket over the dark vampire, and then watched Spike tend to Nareia tenderly. They slowly crawled underneath the covers, and huddled together for comfort, rather than warmth. Willow smiled softly, and returned to the table to help with the research.


	6. Part 6

PART SIX:

"I don't get it, why do you want us to do that?" Buffy asked the stone statue suspiciously.

"Because it will gather together all the reprobates of high society," Giles answered.

"Quite correct, Ripper, you are very astute," the manifestation of Onet boomed.

"Presumably you want to corrupt the powerful people in society to your own will?" the former Watcher proposed. 

"And, again, your intellect astounds me," the demon's voice oozed sarcasm. "Now, surely you must know of a suitable place?"

Buffy frowned, and then grinned evilly, "I know the exact place."

"Then let me see it," Onet demanded.

"I don't understand, how can I…" Buffy began to inquire, but then collapsed on the floor in pain. "Oh, I get it now," she groaned, holding her head.

Giles bent down, looking slightly worried, "Are you all rig…" and then, he, too, fell to the floor clutching his head, images flowing through his mind.

After a few minutes, the pain subsided, and the two vampires were able to stand up shakily. "Yes, that is a suitable place. Put things in motion immediately!" Onet ordered.

Using her mobile phone, Buffy and Giles contacted the appropriate people, and dropped hints as to what was to occur, when and where. Giles grinned as he got off the phone to the Chief of Police, "He took the bait, hook, line, and sinker. I can't wait to kick his sorry little arse. He always bugged me for some reason."

Buffy smiled, and added, "Well, as long as I can thrash Angel to a pulp, I don't care."

"I don't see why you're obsessing about that vampire," Giles said, as he picked up a sword, and ran his finger along the edge idly.

Buffy's jaw muscles clenched, "He's a vampire with a soul, and he killed lots of us. Plus, he put me through agony, and for that he deserves a few years of torture."

"Well, he did have his reasons, Buffy," Giles pointed out. "But, I admit, his brooding did get on my nerves a little. And, I would love to carve him into little pieces for torturing me," Giles waved the sword about viciously.

"I promise we can take turns," Buffy answered, picking up an object that looked like a pair of tongs. She frowned as she looked at them, but soon she had an evil glint in her eye as she envisioned all sorts of gruesome injuries she could inflict with it.

"What about our former friends?" Giles asked, seemingly uninterested.

"Kill them," Buffy shrugged. "They were always hangers on, and I _hate hangers on."_

"Great. I love a good, simple killing," Giles grinned cruelly.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Nareia turned over in her sleep, and moaned. Her arm touched something, and her eyes flew open. She took in an unneeded breath of fear, until she realised that she was in Spike's bed, and it was Spike's chest that she had come up against. She let the breath out in a soft sigh.

Spike said softly, his eyes still closed, "Feeling any better, pet?"

"Ummm," Nareia replied, cuddling up against his sturdy chest. Then she remembered what had happened earlier, and she sat up quickly, dragging Spike's arm up with her. "Oh, bloody hell, what time is it?"

Willow looked up from the other end of the room where she was still studying, "It's about 10 o'clock. Xander and Anya are already asleep." She pointed to a sofa, where the two were cuddled up under a blanket.

Angel was sat beside Willow, his head resting on his hand, "Time to go out and see if we can find anything."

"Right, come on, Spike, up you get," Nareia dragged the reluctant vampire from his bed.

"What's the plan?" he asked, as he pulled a new shirt over his head.

Angel replied, "I suggest we scout around. See if we can find if anything unusual has happened. And try and avoid Buffy and Giles."

Nareia stood in thought, her brow furrowed, "We should try and discover where they are laying up."

Angel and Spike exchanged a look. "Are you sure that's a good idea, pet?" Spike asked.

Nareia shrugged, "Well, it would give us an advantage over them. Plus, it might help us to find out what Onet's up to."

"Right, let's get this over and done with," Spike went to the weapons pile, and grabbed a few stakes, and the dagger he had been handling earlier.

Nareia and Angel joined him, taking their own stakes, and also a crossbow and a sword. Willow stood by the table as they passed. "I'll stay up and keep studying," she offered.

"Are you sure?" Nareia asked, worried. 

"Don't you think you should get some sleep?" Angel added.

Willow waved away their concern, "I can sleep later. Right now, we need answers. Now, go, shoo!" She shooed them up the stairs. "And be careful," she called after them.

Spike shook his head, "That's some girl."

Angel smiled softly, "For once, I agree with you on that."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Uh!" Nareia said in disgust, "This is getting us nowhere. We haven't seen or heard a single sodding thing."

Spike added, "And for once, I feel worried. This town is far too bloody quiet."

"Wait!"

Spike and Nareia stopped at the older vampire's hissed order. Nareia looked around, "What is it?" she whispered.

"Over there, that church," Angel pointed in front of them. "Isn't it meant to be abandoned?"

Spike nodded, "I checked it out as a prospective home, but it was a tad small for my taste."

"Well, it's not empty anymore," Angel pointed out, "I saw a light coming from it."

"I don't see any…wait, I do now," Nareia agreed. "Do you think it's the Slayer?"

The dark vampire nodded, "I can feel her."

"From here?" Nareia asked, surprised. 

Spike groaned behind her, "It's this whole bloody love thing, makes them tingle when they're near."

Nareia concealed a giggle at Angel's glare, and said, "Well, what now?"

"Burn it," Spike suggested cheerfully.

"Don't be bloody daft," Nareia retorted, and opened her mouth to add something, but Angel cut her off by putting a hand on her arm.

"Follow them," he whispered. The three vampires, hidden from view by trees, saw the Slayer and her Watcher come out of the church and head towards the outskirts of town. "We'd best stay a ways behind them, Buffy's senses will be extra sensitive now she's a vampire," Angel advised.

Spike snorted, "And, of course, she's going to recognise broody boy here a...ugh!" He grunted as Nareia elbowed him, hissing,  "Shut the bloody hell up."

Angel smiled briefly as he turned to lead the younger vampires in tracking the retreating Buffy and Giles.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Do you think that everyone will turn up? I mean, the sewer isn't exactly the most glamorous place in the world."

"Definitely," Giles nodded. "The "high society" are always there where crime and gambling are involved. And a bit of supernaturalness will compel them like moths to a flame." He grinned.

Buffy frowned, "So what does Onet want us for? I mean, we're not high society."

"Precisely. He wants a couple of people with the brains and the brawn to control those insects. I believe he doesn't have the power, or the wish, to control each and everyone of them separately," Giles hypothesised.

"Huh! Makes sense," Buffy agreed. "So, are we going to kick some ass?"

"To coin one of your phrases, you bet," Giles led the girl into sewer.

"I hate sewers! They're too smelly," Buffy moaned.

"Buffy, what do you expect?" Giles shook his head at her. "Come on." He led the way down the sewer. 

Soon, they came to a door, which appeared to be locked. However, after Buffy attacked it with a crowbar, it was easily passable. Through it, they entered a large round room. In the centre was a sandy pit, surrounded by railing. Along the edge of the pit was a ledge, wide enough to hold four people deep. Off to the right was a door leading into more darkness. The room was lit by candles situated at various points in the wall. Onet had been there before they arrived. 

The room was not empty. It was filled with demons of all shapes and sizes. Many were members of Sunnydale, police officers, councilmen, and other authoritative figures, once human, now vampires through Onet's curse. They turned upon hearing the Watcher and the Slayer break in.

The ex-Deputy Mayor, approached them. "And who are you?" he asked threateningly.

Buffy casually punched him the face. "Someone you should be polite to," she told the unconscious body as she stepped over him.

Giles smiled, "This is going to be fun." He followed Buffy to the edge of the railing. "Everyone, quieten down. From now on, you will answer to us. If you don't, you will die. This is Buffy. You may have heard of her, she once had a peculiar affliction to kill vampires." He noticed the horrified looks on the vampires' faces. "Don't worry," he chuckled, "she's been cured, almost. Anyone who disobeys our orders, answers to her more violent tendencies."

"Who are you?" "Whose orders are you taking?" were called out.

"I'm Ripper, Buffy's Watcher, and we're taking orders from the demon who brought you all here tonight," Giles answered shortly.

There was short silence, and then whispered muttering followed. "When do we get to the games?" someone yelled.

"Ah, yes, when you get to test out your newfound strength on each other," Giles confirmed. "Well, go and get yourself sorted," he pointed to the door on the right.

"What's in there?" another demon asked.

"Curious bunch, aren't they?" Buffy commented to Giles. "Weapons!" she answered. "And I suggest you go and find one fast, before all the best ones are taken."

There was a rush for the door, as everyone scrambled to be the first through. Buffy rolled her eyes, and shook her head, "They'll never learn. How are we going to do this with this pathetic lot?"

Giles turned to look at her, and then back at the demons, "I think you might be surprised."

Soon, the demons were coming back with their arms loaded with weapons. Some, who had not gone, stood aside from the rest.

"What are they?" Buffy pointed to them.

Giles peered at them, "I believe they are mind-readers."

Buffy's eyes went wide, "You mean like the scabby guys I slayed ages ago?"

"No," Giles shook his head, "these are only able to read minds if they are focussed on an individual. They can't communicate telepathically."

Buffy sighed in relief, "Phew!" Then she looked round at the demons congregating near them. "Right, time for some action! You, and you," she pointed to two demons near her, "You're first, jump down into the pit."

The two chosen looked first shocked, and then pleased at having been picked, and eagerly followed her orders. The crowd surged up to the railing to watch the impending fight.

"This is going to be such a riot!" Buffy laughed.

"I certainly hope not," Giles retorted.

"Oh, lighten up," Buffy hit his arm, none too gently, "Even as a vampire, you can still be stuffy!"

Giles growled at her, and grabbed her arms, turning her to face him. "Don't ever hit me again, missy, or you'll see just how unstuffy I can get."

Buffy stared at him wide-eyed, and then smiled shyly, "Why, Ripper, I never knew you had it in you. I wonder what other surprises you've got hidden."

Giles let her go, and looked at her intensely, "Keep treating me like you used to, and you'll find out soon enough."

"Promises, promises," Buffy giggled, and turned back to the pit before Giles could say anything.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Willow sat at the desk, frantically searching the books for a reversal spell. Finally, she threw the last book down in frustration, and stood up to wander around. 

Next to the bed, she saw a small pile of books on the dresser. Curious, the redhead picked them up, and saw from the titles that they were books concerning demons and curse spells.

Berating herself for not having noticed them earlier, she sat down to skim read them. Suddenly, her hand stopped on a page. On it was a drawing of a demon, none other than Onet. However, all it told her was that he had an affinity for vampires, and liked to wreak havoc.

"That was a big bunch of help," Willow grumbled, and picked up the next book. She managed to find a section on transformation curses, and there, in black and white, was the spell that Onet had to have used. Willow's eyes went wide, and she quickly scanned down the page, hoping desperately to find the counter-spell. 

After a few moments of blind panic, when she thought that there wasn't one, and Buffy and Giles were doomed to die, somehow, her frantic eyes rested on text which said that the talisman that stimulated the curse had to be destroyed.

"Great, now all we need to know is what the talisman was," Willow muttered. She kept looking but could find nothing else that was helpful.

"Angel, Spike, Nareia! They have to know this!" the witch got up quickly, and looked at Xander and Anya, fast asleep. She frowned. She didn't want to wake them.

Willow stood in silent contemplation for a moment, and then narrowed her eyes as she came to a decision. Moving swiftly around Spike's crypt, quietly speaking Latin, she set up a protection spell on it. Then, she grabbed a protection spell pouch she had made earlier, along with a couple of stakes, and headed out the door, with a determined look on her face.

Once out of the church, she quickly cast a finding spell, and set it on the vampires. Soon, Willow was striding confidently through a cemetery, her uneasiness only given away by her brief anxious looks around her, and the white knuckles of her hand as it clutched a stake.

It wasn't long before she saw them, three figures clad in black, their long coats sweeping out behind them as they strode along, Nareia looking tiny between the two tall men. Willow was about to call out to them from across the road, when Angel bent down, pulled up a sewer cover, and the three jumped down into it.

Willow groaned, "Why sewers? Why is it always sewers?" She ran across the road, and followed them down into the dark sewer, very glad that she had learnt the light spell off by heart.


	7. Part 7

PART SEVEN:

By the time Willow had reached the bottom of the ladder, the vampires had disappeared into the gloom. Silently cursing the vampires' speed, Willow quickly worked the light spell, the words tripping off her tongue with ease. Soon, a small blue ball of light was floating, just above head height, a few feet in front of her.

Clutching her stake, the redhead began to make her way down the sewer, following the little green speck of light that showed the way the vampires had been. She wrinkled her nose at the smell that was coming from one of the side sewers, and hurried past, not looking into the opening as she did so.

A pair of amber eyes followed Willow's hurried walk as she, and her blue witchlight, melded with the gloom.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Uh, Angel, are you sure this is a good idea?" Nareia asked, her voice wavering slightly. 

They were nearing an opening in the sewer system; all three of them could feel it. They could sense the presences not too far away – the presence of a large number of vampires.

"Yeah, mate. I don't fancy walking into a lair of vampires either," Spike added softly.

Angel looked at them both, and then back towards where the lair was. "We have to get in there," he stressed.

Nareia looked puzzled, "Why? I hate to be impertinent…" Spike snorted, and stifled a laugh, "…but can't we just go and tell everyone we know where Buffy and Giles are holding up now?"

Angel shook his head, "No, we have to know what they're up to."

"Look, mate, how are we going to get in there without being recognised? We're not exactly incognito in the vampire world, even if the Slayer and her Watcher didn't know us."

Angel glanced back at the two other vampires, and then back up the sewer tunnel they had come down, "I have an idea."

"Oh, bloody hell," they groaned in unison, albeit quietly.

"What? It's not like all my ideas are crazy?" Angel sounded put out.

Nareia sighed, "Ok, then, let's hear it."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Willow continued down the dank sewer, the green spark guiding her. The blue witchlight cast a warming glow over her, and she felt safe. Until, that is, the green spark went out.

Willow gasped, and looked round. She could see nothing beyond the circle of light cast by her spell. "Who's there?" she called out shakily, her hand gripping the wooden stake.

"Your worst nightmare," a voice came from behind and whispered in her ear. Willow didn't have time to cry out before a hand clamped over her mouth. Another grabbed her wrist, and twisted it until the stake fell, useless, to the ground.  Images of Angelus raced through her mind, but her fears of it being him were dispelled when the voice came again, "Now come with me, little one, I have a surprise for you."

Willow gulped, but didn't fight. She knew things would hurt more if she did. So, instead, she stumbled along the sewer, with her attacker attached to her arm. "You should probably turn that off," he growled, waving at the blue light with his remaining hand. "I can see perfectly well without it." It was then that Willow knew her attacker was a vampire. She was relieved, in a way. At least she knew what she was dealing with.

Willow was dragged along for what seemed like an eternity, but was actually only a few minutes, and then was shoved unceremoniously into a dingy, candlelit room. "Look what I found slinking around the tunnels," her captor grinned evilly.

"Well, this is a new development," another vampire answered. "We should show her to Ripper."

Willow looked up at the mention of Giles's old name. She swallowed nervously. Looking round, she could see that, off to one side, was a stout iron door, which was currently standing open, but would be hard to break down if it was shut. The redhead could just see a group of people through the door, most of them vamped out, cheering at something in front of them. Willow shuddered when she thought about what could amuse vampires.

Suddenly, her already bruised arm was grabbed again, and she was dragged out, through the door, and pushed to the front of the crowd. What she saw in front of her shocked her to the core. 

"Hey, Ripper!" the vampire who was holding her called out. The man in front of her, who was standing over the plump figure of Sunnydale's Chief of Police, a stake in his hand, looked up from his kill. When he saw the shocked but furious redhead in the vampire's arms, an evil grin spread across his face.

"Willow."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"That is possibly the most bloody idiotic plan I have ever heard in the whole of my unlife," Nareia whispered fiercely.

Spike eyed her with a sly smile, "I don't know, pet, if you act like that, it'll work perfectly."

Nareia growled at him, and turned back to Angel, "You can't be serious. Say you aren't serious."

Angel grimaced under the force of Nareia's anger, "Nareia, it's the only way we'll get in there."

Then Spike frowned, "What about the wee one, here? Won't she be recognised? I mean, she's got a bit of a reputation herself."

Nareia perked up at Spike's comment, and then the scowl returned to her face, "No. All the vampires who found out what I was are currently dust piles. Except you two, of course," she added. She heaved a huge sigh, "You knew damn well I would do it, Angel."

Angel looked at her angry, but resigned face, and grinned slightly. "Well, you always liked acting," he explained, shrugging. "We just have to hope that Giles and Buffy don't know enough about you to be convinced that you can be bad."

Nareia then smiled slyly, "Oh, don't worry about that. I'll show them how bad I can be."

Spike squeezed Nareia's waist as they moved off, towards the lair, "I can't wait for that, pet."

"Just don't distract me," Nareia told him, winking.

She led Spike and Angel through the broken door, and into the round room, where the scene that they had had in the vision was being acted out in front of them. Giles was in the arena, fighting a chubby Chief of Police. If the circumstances had been different, Nareia would have enjoyed the show. Giles was obviously winning, moving easily, while the policeman was lurching about, dripping sweat.

The vampires' perusal of the room was interrupted by the ex-Deputy Mayor, who approached them with venom in his eyes. "What are you doing here, Spike? And bringing your souled sire with you? And who's this, your new Dru?" he sneered.

Before Spike could answer, Nareia had her hand around the Deputy Mayor's neck. "They're with me," she growled, and her eyes flashed amber. "Why don't you get your pansy ass out of the way, otherwise I might set Angelus on you? I think he might enjoy that, he gets ratty after his soul's been released."

The hapless vampire's eyes bulged as Nareia's grip tightened, and they flittered between Spike, who was standing menacingly by Nareia's shoulder, to Angel, who smiled sadistically back at him.

The ex-Deputy Mayor tried to say something, but the vampiress's hand at his throat restricted his speech somewhat. Nareia tipped her head sideways, "Was there something you wanted to say?" Her victim nodded slightly. "Hmm, could it be you want to accommodate my every wish?" He nodded again quickly. "Good, I was hoping that was the answer. In that case, I think you should get out of my way," The ex-Deputy Mayor smiled uneasily, and nodded for the third time.

"Say hi to Hell for me," Angel told him, just before Nareia hit him on the head with her left hand. The blow, combined with her hold in his throat, broke his neck. His eyes widened as he realised what had happened, and then Nareia was wiping dust off her black trousers.

Spike grinned, "You've got to admit, that was fun."

Angel and Nareia looked at each other, and then smiled. "Yeah, it could have been classed as that," Nareia agreed. She then frowned. "It also appears that not all of them are immortal," she commented, pointing at the pile of dust at her feet.

"You can feel the difference, some of them are cursed, and some are normal vampires," Angel answered.

"So, what are they up to?" Spike asked, looking around him curiously.

Nareia shook her head, "I don't understand, there must be something more to it than a bloody gladiator fight."

Angel stiffened beside her. "What? What is it?" she asked the dark vampire.

"Willow."

Spike and Nareia turned, and saw that Giles had staked the now stunned Chief of Police, and his gaze was now fixed on something by the railing. It was the redheaded witch.

"Shit," Nareia and Spike muttered together.

"What is she doing here?" Nareia added.

"We have to get to her, before Giles does," Angel stated, and walked off towards her quickly.

Spike growled, and followed him quickly, with Nareia trying to keep up with him. She was stopped by a particularly gruesome-looking vampire, who grabbed her arm, and drooled on her, vamping out as he asked, "What are you doing here by yourself, pretty one?"

Nareia shrugged, and smiled at him. He returned the smile with one of his own, exposing none too clean fangs. "I don't know, I'm getting bored. I need something fun to do. I know, how 'bout this?"

She grasped his arm, and he looked shocked, until Nareia flashed him another smile. He relaxed, until Nareia casually twisted his arm behind his back, until she heard the bone pop, "Now, that was fun," she grinned.

She dropped his broken arm, and began to walk off after Spike and Angel, when someone else reached for her. "What now?" she growled angrily.

"You hurt my friend," her new attacker pointed to the vampire she had the encounter with. "We don't like that!" Ten more vampires came up to stand behind him.

Nareia rolled her eyes at the playground attitude, and inwardly winced, but maintained her outward calm. "Well, he wasn't playing nice," she answered, somewhat petulantly, just before her right fist connected with the first vampire's head, snapping it back. She followed up with another blow from her left fist, and the vampire fell to his knees, before exploding into dust, his neck broken.

The ten other vampires looked at their friend in shock, and then turned in the diminutive vampire that stood before them. All of them closed in on Nareia with vicious grins on their faces. They knew that she couldn't take them all at once. And they knew that she knew that.

Spike looked round when he felt fear flicker through his mind. He saw Nareia dust the first vampire, and be closed in upon by the remaining three. "Shit," he growled, his face changing as he ran over to where Nareia was currently being beaten up.

Spike growled again as he leapt into the fray, warning the remaining male vampires of his arrival, just before he broke the neck of the one that was holding Nareia down. Nareia leapt to her feet, gave Spike a grateful look, and quickly staked the vampire that was about to jump on him from behind. The last, having seen his fellow vamps turn into dust piles, took one look at Nareia and Spike, still vamped out, and turned tail and ran.

Spike's faced became human again, and he growled after him, "Don't mess with my girl again."

The vampiress's face returned to its human form as well, and Nareia's eyebrows rose, "Your girl?"

Spike grinned at her, and scooped her up in his strong arms, "You know it, and I know it, pet." His mouth swooped down to capture Nareia's in a devastating kiss.

"Now, come on, we have to help the poof," he said, as he broke off the kiss quickly, and dropped the petite vampire on her feet. He grabbed her hand, and they headed to where they had last seen Angel and Willow.

They were stopped by six vampires, one of whom was the one that had run away. "Just where do you think you are going?" he asked.

Nareia stepped forward, letting go of Spike's hand, "I'm going to find Angelus. I suggest you step out of the way, now!"

"I don't think that's going to happen," another said. "Your friend, Angelus, was caught trying to rescue Ripper's favourite witch. He's being punished right now." The vampire pointed to the arena below. 

Spike and Nareia looked down into it, to see Buffy standing there with a stake in her hand, looking murderous. There was a commotion from the entrance to the pit. Someone was being dragged struggling into the arena. Nareia drew in an unneeded breath, and Spike's hand found hers and grasped it tight. It was Angel.


	8. Part 8

PART EIGHT:

Ripper jumped up onto to the ledge, several hands needlessly helping him. He stood up next to Willow, and stroked her soft red hair, smiling when she shivered. "Ssh, it's all right, Willow, I'll take care of you," he reassured her.

Willow shuddered again. _That's what I'm afraid of,_ she thought to herself. She allowed Giles, _Ripper!_ she told herself, to lead her away, down some steps that she hadn't seen before.

Willow was desperately trying to think of a spell that could help her, but her brain had gone blank. _Great witch you'll make, Will!_ she berated herself.

Looking around, she could see that she had been taken into what appeared to be a dungeon, with a few small cells on one side. Ripper shoved Willow down into a chair, and leaned on the arms, his face an inch away from hers. Willow tried to move away, but her head hit the backrest.

Ripper reached out and took a lock of her red hair in his hand. Willow saw her chance as he was off balance, and tried to dash underneath his arm. The Watcher spun round with supernatural speed, and caught her with an arm around her trim waist. He threw her back into the chair with such force that it shot back and hit the wall, Willow's head crunching off the stone wall in the process.

She groaned, and closed her eyes against the pain. Upon opening them again, she met Ripper's amber eyes staring into hers. "Don't do that again," he growled, "or else I might have to punish you." He licked his fangs in anticipation.

Willow shuddered, and looked away. Movement behind Ripper caught her eye. Looking over his shoulder, she saw something that brought her heart into her mouth. Her worst nightmare.

Angelus was leaning casually in the doorway, "Why don't you leave her to me, Ripper? I've always had a good way with women."

Ripper stood up slowly, "Angelus, what brings you back here? It can't have been Buffy. Oh, wait, I know, that new vampire of Spike's, you could take her if you wanted to. I guess you two must have had more history than we thought."

Angelus stood up, and walked toward Ripper, his stance oozing danger. He didn't look at Willow, but looked instead at Ripper, "That's right, Ripper. There's more to us than you could possibly know. Now, about the witch…"

Ripper stared at Angelus in the eye for a moment, and then, satisfied with whatever he saw there, backed away, saying, "You can have her, for a while. But I want her back in one piece."

Angelus shrugged, "I think I can manage that. I am an expert in this sort of torture, you know."

"I'll leave you to it, then," Ripper said, waving his hand towards where Willow was sitting, wide-eyed.

"Thank you," Angelus said sarcastically. He waited until Ripper had left the room before approaching the shivering girl.

"Willow, Willow, it's OK, it's me, Angel," he said softly.

She looked up at him, with green eyes brimming with tears. "Angel?" she said hopefully.

Angel smiled warmly, "You don't think Spike would let me anywhere Nareia, do you?"

Willow smiled back, "No, I didn't. Thank the Goddess Ripper didn't come to the same conclusion."

"Come on," Angel helped Willow to her feet. He supported her when she swayed slightly, her vision becoming dizzy due her head wound. "We have to get you out of here."

The dark vampire had his strong arm around her waist, holding her as they walked toward the door. "We might have to run, do you think you can manage?" 

The redhead nodded, "If I have to, yes." She was desperately trying to ignore the feel of Angel's arm on her waist.

"Going somewhere, Angel?" Ripper said, looking round the doorway.

Angel swore quietly, and his hold on Willow tightened. She grabbed his arm, and squeezed it in return.

"I thought not," the Watcher said menacingly. "Angel, there's someone out there that's died to see you."

Four vampires appeared from behind him, and rushed forward to grab Angel. He struggled, and Willow tried to fight them off him as well, until Ripper grabbed her, and held her away. Angel fought as best he could, but finally, he was clubbed over the head, and dragged away.

Willow sobbed into Ripper's chest as he held her close. Suddenly, she realised exactly whose chest she was crying into, and all her fear and worry welled up inside to turn into anger. She hit Ripper's chest furiously. "How could you do that, you, you bastard!" she yelled. She changed her target from his chest to his face, and landed quite a few hard blows before Ripper tired of her tirade, and grabbed her wrists viciously, making her cry out.

"Shut up, and sit down," he told her quietly, the threat evident in his voice.

Willow quietened down, and looked at Ripper through her long eyelashes. She had a plan forming in her head, as she let him lead her to the chair and sit her down in it.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Angel fought furiously, the image of Willow's frightened face and the feel of her hand on his arm filling his mind. He could not last forever, however, and finally he felt a pain in his head, and everything went black.

He woke up a few minutes later, to find himself being dragged up some steps towards a doorway. Through the doorway, his rapidly adjusting eyes could make out sand, the sand that was the floor of the arena.

He was shoved roughly out into the arena, one of the vampires behind him saying as he fell, "Have a good time!"

Angel got up quickly, looking around as he did so. He saw a sea of faces, watching eagerly. And he saw Spike and Nareia, their faces whiter than usual, watching him as well. Angel sighed inwardly. _Not another gladiator fight._ He turned to find out who his opponent was. The sight that greeted was not one he ever wanted to see again.

Buffy was stood there, holding a stake confidently in her hand, with an evil glint in her eye. "Angel," she purred, "finally, I get to take out my feelings for you without remorse."

Angel shuddered as he heard the maliciousness in her voice. He needed an idea, and he needed one fast. Desperately, whilst grabbing one of the wooden stakes that were piled up by the steps, Angel looked up at Spike and Nareia, hoping they could think of something before his ex-girlfriend staked him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Nareia shook Spike's hand, "We have to do something. Buffy will kill him!"

Spike looked at her, a worried look in his blue-grey eyes, "Don't you think I bloody know that, love? I'm thinking."

Nareia looked from him to Angel, and back again. "I think I have an idea," she said quietly.

Spike shifted his eyes from the arena down to her determined brown ones, "What, pet?"

Nareia swallowed, "We can give him our strength. Because we have a mental bond, we can link, and you can send our combined strength to him through your blood bond."

"Won't that leave us vulnerable?" Spike asked.

His counter-part nodded, "Yes, but at the moment, he's more vulnerable than we would ever be."

Spike glanced quickly back at the arena, where Angel and Buffy were circling. He sighed, "Bloody hell. All right, pet, let's do it."

Nareia turned and took his other hand in her small one, and lent her head against his hard chest. She closed her eyes, and Spike soon closed his. Nareia could feel the images coming from him harden into thoughts and feelings, and the blond vampire also knew her thoughts and emotions. In his mind, she whispered, "Now, Spike, now."

Spike sent their combined minds out to Angel, hoping that what he was doing was right, and he hadn't condemned both himself and Nareia to an eternity of madness. He felt Angel jerk as their strength hit him, and almost fall over.

Buffy closed in on him, and was about to say something to him, when Angel's eyes opened, and he looked up at Buffy, "Pet, you don't know what you're messing with. But you're bloody well about to find out!" He leapt up, renewed by their combined strength, and began to press a surprised Buffy.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Nareia and Spike clung to each other, eyes tightly shut, concentrating all of their minds to the fight Angel was fighting below them. Nareia felt something trying to block them, but she and Spike blocked them abruptly.

Nareia forced her eyes open, and looked across the arena, turning her head so that her cheek was resting on Spike's chest. She saw two people staring at them, and felt the push at their link again. Spike blocked again without hesitation, and Nareia saw the two people turn to the vampires beside them, telling them something. When she saw them pointing to her and Spike, she knew what had happened. _Mind readers, damn._

Nareia tried to get Spike's attention, but it was elsewhere. "Spike," she gasped.

Spike ignored her, instead letting go of one of her hands to hit the vampire coming up behind her, knocking him out. Nareia looked up, her eyes wide in horror, but Spike's face was determined, and he swept her aside until they were back to back.

The lovers fought the vampires as they came at them, their movements mirroring Angel's as he fought Buffy. Nareia fought as hard as she could, drawing on as little energy as she possibly could, but she knew without her full strength, soon she would be overcome. She also knew that Spike was affected as badly as her.

There seemed to be a lull in the vampires coming at her, and she stopped, looking round for the cause. Then she was hit by a wave of pain, and she felt Spike collapse into her.

Turning, she grabbed him. "Spike!" she gasped. He had a stake sticking out of his chest. "Oh, Spike!" Nareia moaned. "Don't go, please, don't leave me, you can't leave me, Spike," she cried, tears streaming down her face.

Spike reached out a shaky hand, and stroked her cheek, "I won't ever leave you, Nareia. I'll always be there for you. I love you." His face, too, was wet with tears.

Then, in the midst of her grief, Nareia realised something, "Spike, you're not dust yet. Shouldn't you be dust by now?"

Spike straightened up slowly, "You're right. Missed the heart. Hurts like hell though."

Nareia grinned, "But you're still here. That's all that matte…"

Her voice trailed off as Spike's eyes widened and her grin disappeared. They both looked down at the piece of wood protruding from Nareia's chest. 

"Spike!" she gasped, grabbing his arms.

"Ssh, baby, it's ok," Spike reassured her with a shaky voice, sinking to his knees with her. "I'm here," his voice caught, and new tears streamed down his cheeks.

"I love you, Spike, and I'm sorry, for everything," Nareia said, so softly that Spike had to strain to hear her.

"Don't be sorry, Nareia, I wouldn't be who I am without you," and the blond vampire held her in his arms as her eyes closed.

Part 09


	9. Part 9

PART NINE:

Spike could feel Nareia's body getting lighter by the second, and her skin had taken on an unhealthy shade of dust-brown. He knew she wouldn't last much longer, and was surprised that she had lasted as long as she had.

_"It's just clipped the heart, it's not all the way through it," Nareia explained, her voice coming to him weakly in his mind. _"How's Angel? And shouldn't you take that out?"_ she asked, mentally imaging the stake in his chest._

Spike grunted. He let go of Nareia with one hand, and pulled the wooden stake out of his chest, grimacing in pain as he did so. He looked quickly over his shoulder at the arena behind him. Angel was faltering with their retreating strength. He relayed this to Nareia in his mind grimly.

_"Also, all the vamps seem to be ignoring us now, so I guess that's one up on us," he added sarcastically._

Spike knew something had to be done, and fast. He was too weak to do anything himself, he needed blood. And Nareia was on the verge of dust. He had to protect her. Angel wasn't looking too happy either. For once, Spike was at a total loss.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Angel tripped over his own feet, and fell onto the sand. As he fell, he turned his head, and could see Spike kneeling, holding Nareia in his arms. His childe was crying. Angel could feel the combined strength of the younger vampires leaving him, and he knew what had happened. He closed his eyes in pain. This was all his fault. He hadn't saved anyone at all, instead condemning them to a second death, or a first, in Willow's case.

He heard Buffy coming up behind him, and flipped over and up onto his feet. Maybe he could weaken Buffy enough to get away, and help save the others. He knew it was small hope, but it was hope. 

Grimly, he grabbed a long spear from the side, and snapped it over his knee. He approached a grinning Buffy, twirling it in his hands threateningly.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Willow sat in her chair, watching Ripper as he stood at the doorway, watching Angel fight. The spell she had planned was set out in her head, all she had to do was get into a suitable place to perform it. She grimaced inside. That could be easier said than done.

Busy with her own thoughts, Willow jumped when Ripper touched her arm. "Come on, Willow, there's something I want you to see," he dragged her up.

Willow shrank away from his touch, but didn't fight, pretending to be meeker than she was. Inside, she was elated. This was what she had needed.

Ripper escorted her to the door. When they got there, Willow looked out to see Angel lying on the ground, Buffy standing over him, brandishing a stake. Quickly looking around at the crowd, the redhead could see Spike, with Nareia in his arms. Willow gulped. She hoped there was nothing seriously wrong with the vampiress, she liked Nareia.

Steeling herself, Willow drew a deep breath. Ripper had loosened his hold on her arm, too engrossed in Buffy to take much notice of the redhead beside him. The crowd cheered, masking the quiet chanting that Willow was doing under her breath. She finally, after what had seemed like a lifetime to her, came to the end, and shouted out the trigger words, "Sol emico!" 

From the middle of the room, a bright light appeared, and rays of it spread quickly, creeping into every crevice. Willow covered her eyes until they got used to the unnatural brightness. She could hear all the screams of the vampires, as they either burst into flames, or the immortal ones rolled about in agony.

Willow slowly opened her eyes, and gazed about at the scene in front of her. Angel was still lying on the sand, but Buffy was no longer standing menacingly over him. Instead she was doubled up, staggering about the arena.

Willow pulled herself together, and ran out into the arena, towards Angel. "Come on, get up, it can't last forever," she helped him to his feet. Willow gasped at the wounds on his face, and he favoured his right side. 

"What, how…?" he stammered.

Willow shook her head, "There's no time to explain. Come on, we have to get Onet's talisman."

Angel squinted at the redhead, and pulled her toward him as Buffy stumbled about. They both noticed a cylindrical object jutting out from the back of her trousers. Angel frowned, but grabbed it, and then dragged Willow up the stairs, shoving non-flaming vampires out of the way with growls.

The two staggered to where Spike was still kneeling with Nareia. The blond vampire looked up as they approached, "They staked her, the bastards. She got staked." His face was distorted in an agony much more profound than that of the writhing vampires around him.

Angel looked at the vampiress's face. It was very brown, and her body was almost translucent. "There's not much time. You'll have to carry her, Spike."

Spike nodded at the stern but soft voice of his sire, and stood up slowly, holding Nareia still in his arms. "I can't go very fast," he pointed out, and Willow noticed the bloodstain on his chest.

"Come on, we have to get out of here, or else we won't be going anywhere. It'll be day soon," she insisted, and Spike once again nodded dumbly. He strode through the mass of vampires, keeping Nareia as still as possible. Angel and Willow followed closely behind, holding onto each other for support.

The four staggered through the sewers back the way they had come, and finally made it the ladder. Angel's strength was returning to him slowly, and he and Willow helped the drowsy Spike to lift Nareia up to the street.

It was a few hours before dawn, and it took them all that time to return to Spike's crypt. Once they had lain Nareia on the bed, and Spike had collapsed beside her, Angel sank into the unoccupied sofa.

Willow's face was white and drawn, but she did not sit down. Instead she woke Xander and Anya. Very quickly, she told them what had happened, and sent them off to find blood, "We need lots of it. All three of them are injured badly, and I don't think Spike will be able to hunt for a while."

Xander frowned, "But we don't have any money to get any with, Wil."

Willow scowled, "Then steal some, Xander. We don't have time for morals. If these three die, then we die, and a whole lot more people do as well."

Anya nodded in acknowledgement, "We'll get the blood. Come on Xander." The ex-demon dragged her boyfriend out of the crypt.

Willow sighed as she looked towards the bed. Nareia was still there, but the redhead didn't think she could hold out much longer. She turned to Angel, to see him taking his shirt off, his jacket already discarded on the arm beside him. The dark vampire winced, and Willow took one look at the wound in his side, and ran to the cupboard where the herbs were kept.

On her way back, she stopped to fill the kettle, and to tell Spike, "Take your shirt off. No dithering about it, just do it," she added at his surprised look.

He complied, and soon Willow was patching up the two male vampires as best she could.

"What about Nareia?" Spike asked softly. "Can't you do anything about her?"

Willow shook her head, "I want to wait until the blood gets here. If I do anything now, and there isn't any blood, it might arrive too late to save her. Best leave her be for now." Willow laid a hand on Spike's tense arm, and smiled wanly at him. He looked back at her with haunted eyes, and turned to sit beside the vampire lying on the bed.

Willow down next to Angel on the sofa. "There's nothing we can do for now," she told him softly.

"I know. You did well, Willow. Thank you," Angel returned quietly, his left arm hugging her.

Willow rested her head on his shoulder, and there they sat, waiting for Xander and Anya to return.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Xander and Anya came back a few hours later, bearing bags of blood. "Fortunately, the first butcher's we came to wasn't too hard to break into," Xander said, holding out the blood.

Willow grabbed it, and handed a few bags to Angel, who, for once, did not mind drinking in front of humans.

The rest she took to Spike, who tore into a bag rapidly, and then quickly demolished a further two. Once he had finished, Willow looked at him, "Are you ready?"

He swallowed, and nodded. "I'll help," Angel's voice came from behind Willow, "I can help hold her."

Willow nodded and bit her lip. Then she signalled to Spike, and the two vampires rolled Nareia gently onto her front. Willow tore off Nareia's blouse, and they could plainly see the stake sticking out of her back.

Willow chewed her lip, and took hold of her dressing and bandages, at the ready. Angel put his hands either side of the wound, and Spike took hold of the stake. Closing his eyes, the blond vampire began to gently pull it out.

Willow, Xander, and Anya held their breath. Spike's face was a picture of concentration, and, if he had been human, he would have been dripping in sweat. As it was, his hands were perfectly steady. Everyone knew that one tremble could mean the second death of the vampire on the bed.

Spike could feel the stake moving with his hands, and he could sense the pain Nareia was feeling. But he also knew where the stake was located, and knew that it was almost out. Suddenly, his hands jerked away, and everybody gasped, expecting Nareia to now be a pile of dust. But she wasn't. Instead, Spike was sitting on the bed beside her, with a cocky, albeit shaky, grin on his face, holding the bloody stake in his hand.

Willow recovered from her shock fast, and rushed to cover the gaping wound produced by the removal of the stake that Angel was currently trying unsuccessfully to cover. Willow made quick work of the bandaging, and soon Nareia was rolled back onto her back.

"Nareia, love," Spike whispered in her ear, "look what I found in you." He held up the stake.

Nareia's eyes opened, and she looked up at the stake, and Spike's serious face, "Good job too. I wouldn't have wanted that to stay in me for too long." She smiled faintly.

"Here," Angel handed her a blood bag, already opened. Nareia drank from it weakly, but her strength began returning after her second bag.

"Hmm," she smiled softly, "sleep, I think I could do with that now."

"I think we all could," Angel added, looking at the exhausted faces of Spike and Willow. "Xander, Anya, could you…"

"Yes, we'll keep watch, make sure nothing bad happens to you," Anya waved her hands in the air, and walked off to the table, Xander following, but not before rolling his eyes.

Willow smiled and promptly collapsed on the sofa, shortly followed by Angel doing so on the other. Spike was already lying carefully beside Nareia, and not a sound came from their bed.

"Well, it seems we missed out on a lot of fun last night," Xander said, looking at the sleepers.

"Hmph," Anya replied.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. I think we got the better part of the deal," Xander reflected, and got up to get something to eat.

Part 10


	10. Part 10

PART TEN:

Spike woke up when Nareia began tossing and turning. He calmed her by putting his arm gently over her chest. Nareia, upon feeling his strong arm envelope her, sighed softly, and drifted into a deeper sleep.

Spike gazed at her for a moment, before putting his head back on the pillow.

Soon, Nareia was dreaming, about her past, when she was human, just before she got turned. 

_She was visiting family in London, and she'd gone to a party. It was there that she saw him. A man of just above average height, his hair slightly mussed, and he wore small reading glasses. He appeared sensitive and caring, and was busy scribbling on a piece of paper. Nareia was drawn to him, but before she got a chance to talk to him, he got up. As he walked past some of the other guests, the paper was grabbed out of his hands, and the culprit mocked him, reading off the poetry that the young man, William, had written. _

_Nareia winced, it was pretty dismal, but, seeing the hurt look on William's face, she knew it was written from the heart. As he was derided, Nareia's heart went out to him, and, after he had snatched the paper out of the man's hands and walked out, she said clearly and pointedly to his tormentor, "Clearly he is much more of a man than you will ever be, sir, to stand with dignity under such a honourless rebuke to his heart. And, for your information, effulgent is a beautiful word, it means 'shining brightly.'" Turning away without waiting for an answer, Nareia caught the eye of William, who had paused when he heard her speak. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Nareia felt as though she had looked into her future. Then he turned away, and went into another room. Nareia looked after him for a moment, and then swept out, leaving the party._

Spike awoke with a jerk, an astonished look in his eyes. He looked down at Nareia, who was still sleeping peacefully, with a small smile on her face. "So you remember, do you, pet? I never forgot that moment when I first saw your brown eyes either," he stroked a stray lock of hair from her face. "Just don't tell anyone about it, or I'll break your pretty little neck," he growled softly into her ear, before kissing it, and laying back down to sleep, missing Nareia's smile widening as she felt him snuggling up to her.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, Willow, what happened last night? I was little out of it," Nareia asked, later that day.

She and Spike were seated together on one of the sofas, their arms around each other. Willow thought that Spike was unlikely to ever let go of the little vampire ever again. She and Angel were on the other sofa, and Xander and Anya were sitting at the table.

Willow looked a little uncomfortable, and hesitated before answering, "Well, I cast a spell, to shine sunlight into the room. I've been working on it for a while, hoping it would help Buffy," she added eagerly.

Xander frowned, "But that doesn't explain how these three weren't toast."

Willow grimaced, "Well, I sort of put a spell on them too, before they left, while everyone was asleep. It was a good spell, though, and it worked."

"A protection spell," Angel supplied.

Willow nodded, "Yeah. It was to protect against nasty magic. It wasn't powerful enough to stop you being dusted if you'd been staked, but I was quite proud of it."

Nareia nodded in understanding, "You should be. I don't think I would have lasted as long as I did if it hadn't been for the spell. Thank you." She smiled at the nervous redhead, who smiled back shyly.

"So it protected us from sunlight? How long does this spell last?" Spike asked, a glint forming in his eyes.

"It doesn't protect you from real sunlight, only that brought about by magic. Sorry," Willow answered. "You'd last a bit longer than normal, but you'd still be a flaming torch after a while."

"Well, this is great news, but, what about Buffy and Giles? Aren't they going to be just a little bit pissed?" Xander pointed out.

"Oh, I forgot, I know how to reverse the curse!" Willow said excitedly.

"How?" Angel asked, sitting up.

"All you have to do is destroy the talisman that was used to trigger the curse." Willow pointed at the cylinder Angel had grabbed from Buffy earlier, "Hopefully, that's the talisman."

Angel picked it up and examined it. "Let me see," Nareia asked, sitting up with difficulty. Angel passed it over to her, looking worried when she grimaced, reaching out for it.

She turned it over in her hands, not noticing the look that passed between Spike and Angel. "It is," she confirmed finally. "These runes are part of a transformation spell."

"Great, so now all we have to do is destroy it," Xander said cheerfully. "What?" he asked as everyone looked at him.

"It's not as simple as that," Angel said cryptically.

"We have to find out how to destroy the bloody thing," Spike clarified.

Nareia sucked on her left canine. Willow had noticed that she did that when she was thinking. "And it does have to be destroyed. Throwing it into the Hellmouth would reverse the curse, but it would leave this thing lying around to be used by some other demon with a bloody ego." She gazed at it a while longer, and then suddenly waved her right hand. All the candles and lamps went out, leaving them in complete darkness.

"Hey!" Willow exclaimed, and said curiously, "How'd you do that?"

"Umm, as much as I don't trust you guys, I don't like being in a pitch black room with three vampires," Xander protested.

"Xander, shut up," Anya told him.

Nareia then muttered a word, and a wan light appeared over her head, spreading it's silver light throughout the crypt. "Wow, that's beautiful," Willow whispered.

Spike smiled in understanding, "Moonlight, to read the scroll." He saw Xander looking at him ignorantly, "Some writing can only be read by moonlight."

Nareia smiled wryly, "It's the same spell that Willow used, only I never had much use for the sunlight one. Didn't fancy myself as another case of spontaneous combustion." She held the cylinder up to the light. Everyone unconsciously leaned in, and jumped when she laughed. "I think someone is definitely laughing at us, Spike."

"What? What does it say?" Xander asked breathlessly.

"Basically, to destroy it, one must 'place the vessel in the direct path of the Sunne when it is effulgent,'" Nareia answered, smiling, and turning the moonlight off and the candles and lamps back on.

Spike snorted, "I never thought I'd hear that bloody word again." He and Nareia exchanged a meaningful look.

"Huh?" Xander was getting more and more puzzled.

"It means "shining brightly," Willow answered absently. "So all we have to do is to put it in the sun?"

Nareia nodded, "Yeah, but there's a snag. No-one human can touch this; otherwise they'll be cursed too. So it has to be one of us."

Everyone looked at each other. "Can't we just run out, and thrown it down before we bloody fry?" Spike asked.

"Or throw it out a window?" Xander asked. Anya tugged on his sleeve, and swept her arm round the crypt. "Oh, right, no windows."

Nareia shook her head, "It needs to be at midday, since it's the middle of winter now. And it needs direct sunlight, there wouldn't be enough bloody time." She growled in frustration.

Angel turned to Willow, "Can you work that protection spell to protect one of us in full sunlight? Just for a few minutes?"

Willow frowned, "I might be able to. Could you help, Nareia?"

The vampiress nodded doubtfully, "It's our only hope."

"If you hadn't destroyed the Gem of Amara, we wouldn't have this bloody problem," Spike pointed out to Angel.

"Spike," Nareia said warningly, before Angel had a chance to reply. "This isn't over yet."

Willow got up, and helped Nareia to stand. They walked over to the table, and began a whispered conversation. Spike glared at a disinterested Angel, and got up to get a drink.

Spike, Angel, Xander, and Anya sat in an uncomfortable silence, waiting for Nareia and Willow to come up with the right spell.

After a few hours, they turned to their waiting companions. "We've got it, but it won't last for that long. Angel, come here," Willow beckoned the dark vampire.

"Hey, why not me? I'm just as bloody capable as he is," Spike protested.

"You're injured, Spike, you almost got dusted not too long ago," Willow pointed out. "This spell needs someone stronger, I'm sorry," she added softly, so only the vampires could hear her.

Nareia smiled slightly. Willow could see a lot deeper than perhaps her friends knew. Spike sat down again with a small growl, but he knew that she was right. 

Willow stood up as Angel came to stand before her, and she whispered in Latin to him, as she put a necklace on him.

"There's no time to lose, it's almost midday now," Nareia pointed out.

"Here mate," Spike picked up the cylinder, and tossed it to Angel, who caught it deftly. Taking a deep, unneeded breath, he strode up the stairs to the door. Spike came to help Nareia move away from the table, as the sun would shine right down onto it.

Willow, Xander, and Anya followed Angel up to the door, and watched him as he walked nervously into the light. "Well, he's not burning, he's not even sizzling," Anya observed.

Spike and Nareia listened from the sofa as Xander said, "He's starting to smoke, is he meant to do that?"

The two vampires looked at each other, and Willow's voice came drifting down to them, "Hurry, Angel, it won't hold much longer."

They heard running feet, and Angel appeared at the doorway, smoking slightly. "It's done. It disappeared in a flash of green light," he reported.

Nareia nodded, "Yes, it's done. Now all we have to do is hope that there weren't too many real vampires left down in the sewers."

Xander shut the door behind him with a slam as he followed Angel, Willow, and Anya down the stairs. Everyone looked grim as they realised the meaning of Nareia's words.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy woke to find herself lying in sand. Sitting up, and shaking the sand out of her hair, she looked round, frowning, before everything that had happened the previous night came surging back to her. She groaned, and stood up slowly.

Giles heard her moan, and heaved himself up, "Buffy, Buffy. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, apart from a lot of aching muscles, I'm peachy," she replied with forced cheerfulness.

"Well, that's great, because I think we're in trouble," he answered, walking over to her stiffly.

She looked round. The vampires that had been cursed were all back to their human selves, and were looking round curiously, trying to remember what had happened. Either that, or they were being the next meal of the few real vampires that had survived Willow's spell.

These feeding vampires looked up from their victims, and, upon seeing Buffy standing in the middle of the amphitheatre beside her Watcher, dropped the drained bodies, and descended on them.

Part 11


	11. Part 11

PART ELEVEN:

Giles and Buffy stood close together, waiting for the vampires to attack them. Buffy was eying them closely. They were all injured, and were weak, but so was she. She didn't know how long she would be able to last against them all.

Giles was busy looking round. He saw the other entrance, that the cursed vampires had used to get in. "Buffy, come on," he grabbed his Slayer's arm, and dragged her towards the doorway. 

The vampires followed them, but Giles managed to pull the door open, whilst Buffy fended them off. Sunlight streamed through the door, momentarily blinding Giles, and causing the vampires to once again shriek and shrink away into the shadows.

The two humans ran through the crypt, and out into the cemetery. "Well," Buffy panted, "that was exciting!"

Giles looked at her and shook his head, "We have to get back to the apartment, and find out how everyone is doing."

Buffy's face went pale as she remembered the events of the night before. "Angel," she said quietly, and set off after the retreating back of the Watcher quickly.

They charged into Giles' apartment, to find it serenely quiet. Looking round, they noticed half the books missing off one shelf. Buffy walked over to the weapons cabinet, and discovered that almost all of the weapons were gone as well.

"Looks like they were researching, but why not here?" Buffy asked.

Giles looked over at her from where he was investigating the bookshelf. "We might've come back," he explained.

Buffy winced, "Right, I keep forgetting. But where will they have gone?"

Giles shrugged, "The mansion, Angel's old apartment, Spike's place, or Nareia might have a place of her own."

Buffy shook her head, "They wouldn't have gone to a place we knew, so that leaves Spike's place, or Nareia's." She sat down, disheartened, "So, do we just wait?"

Giles moved into the kitchen and put the kettle on, "They must have found a way to reverse the curse, so I expect they'll be coming over here as soon as it's dark."

"Right, so we wait. I hate waiting," Buffy groaned.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Willow was inspecting Angel's burns. "I'm fine, Willow," he protested.

She glared at him, and he shut up, letting her put cream on his blisters, and ignoring the grins on Nareia and Spike's faces as they sat together on the sofa.

Once the redhead had finished pampering the vampire, they joined the others, Angel sitting on the sofa with Willow perching on the arm next to him.

"So, what do we do now?" Xander asked.

Nareia shrugged, "Assuming that Buffy and Giles got out of those damn sewers, they will have gone back to Giles' place, and are probably waiting for us there. So I suggest we go over there once the sun has set."

"Until then, we wait," Angel added.

They all sat there in an uncomfortable silence. Or, at least, the humans did. Nareia and Spike were in each other's arms, smiling contentedly, and Angel was sitting, thinking.

Willow fidgeted, and Angel absently put his hand on top of hers to calm her. Willow didn't seem to notice, but settled anyway. Nareia and Spike did, however, and shared a small smile.

"So," Xander said, trying to elicit conversation.

"So," Anya repeated, bored.

Spike got up, and faked a yawn. "I'm bloody knackered. I'm going to bed, you joining me, pet?" he asked Nareia, holding out his hand to help her up.

Nareia smiled slyly, and put her small hand into his strong one, "Sure, I'm feeling quite tired myself."

Angel got up as well. Willow, noticing that their hands had been touching, yanked hers back, thinking, _Bad Willow, he's a vampire. Still, that never stopped Buffy. Hey, Willow, stop it!_ Angel noticed her uneasiness, but smiled softly at her, and said, "I'm tired as well, after my adventure in the midday sun. Maybe you three should go out and see if anyone escaped from the sewers."

Xander jumped up, "That's a good idea. Let's go, Wil." He dragged Anya up the stairs after him in his eagerness to escape the dreariness of the crypt. "That place is depressing in the daylight," he commented to Anya.

"Not as bad as your basement," Anya retorted.

"At least it's my own place, and it has electricity. But, if you hate it so much, go and live with Spike, I'm sure Nareia won't mind," Xander shot back.

Anya shook her head, "Spike might be sexy, but I love you," and she smiled at him.

Xander smiled back, "I love you too." Then he did a double take, "You think Spike's sexy?"

Anya shrugged, "Well, yeah."

"And, what about Angel?"

Anya paused before answering, considering, "He's got a certain sexy quality about him as well."

Xander just shook his head, tucked Anya's hand under his arm, and walked on, before stopping in the sunlight to wait for Willow.

Willow was still standing in the crypt, looking at Angel. He returned her hesitant look with steady brown eyes. Willow gulped, and looked away. "I'll see you later," she said, before dashing up the stairs into the sunlight.

Angel's eyes followed her, and then he lay down on the sofa again. He closed his eyes, and was drifting off to sleep, savouring the scent of Willow coming from the arm of the sofa above his head, when Spike's voice came from the bed, "Well, mate, you've gone and done it again. Fallen for a bloody mortal."

"Willow isn't just any mortal, she's different from even the Slayer," Nareia told him softly, but loud enough for Angel to hear her as well.

Angel smiled in response, and added in answer, "That she is," so quietly that no-one heard him, and soon the three vampires were asleep, Angel stretched out on the sofa, and Spike curled round Nareia on his silk sheets.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ah, there she is," Xander said as Willow came walking up to them. "What took you so long?"

Willow shrugged, "I just had to figure something out with Angel." She wouldn't meet Xander's eyes, but he didn't seem to notice. "Concerning the spell," she added quickly, more for the benefit of Anya than Xander, who being his usual dense self.

Xander nodded, "Ok, well, shall we go and be investigative?"

Willow and Anya rolled theirs eyes at each other, but grinned, and followed the young man down the street.

~*~*~*~*~*~

When they returned to Spike's crypt, the sun was almost down.

"Good job you're back," Nareia remarked, when she heard them coming down the stairs.

"Yeah, because we were getting so bloody worried about you," Spike said condescendingly, and then tried to look contrite when Nareia elbowed him. 

"We'd best be going, we'll want to be at Giles' as early as possible," Angel said, hefting an axe.

Willow's eyes went wide when she saw the weapon. "There are likely to be some majorly pissed vamps out there at the moment," Nareia explained.

"Are you up to some action?" Spike asked worriedly.

Nareia flexed her muscles, "Yeah. That extra sleep did a world of good, and your blood has definite healing properties." She eyed Spike with an insinuating look.

Spike smirked, "That's not the only part of me that's good for you, love."

Nareia grinned, "I know. Come on, let's bloody well get on, we're wasting time here."

She and Spike also grabbed weapons from the pile remaining that Xander had dropped on the floor the day before, and began to walk out, following Angel. Xander, Anya, and Willow quickly followed suit and dashed up the stairs after the fast retreating backs of the vampires.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy was pacing, and Giles was trying not to get too dizzy watching her, "Buffy, will you please stop that? It's not helping time go any faster."

Buffy shot him a venomous look, and then stopped pacing, to sit down on the sofa beside him with a sigh, "It's gone sundown, they should be here by now."

"Buffy," Giles' voice indicated he was losing patience, "we don't know how far away they are to start off with."

Buffy grunted, and was about to reply, when she heard voices. "That's them," she leapt up, causing Giles to spill his cup of tea, and swear violently, "Bloody hell!"

The Watcher gave his Slayer a despairing look, before heading to the kitchen to get a cloth.

While he was wiping shirt, Buffy opened the door, and let everyone in. "I'm so glad you're safe," she gushed at everyone.

Anya was eying Buffy warily, "You're not still a vampire, then?"

"Anya!" Xander protested at his girlfriend's tactlessness, and then turned to Buffy, "You're not, are you?"

Buffy smiled slightly at her two friends' predictable reactions, but the smile faded, as she said, "No, perfectly normal, alive, non-bloodsucking Buffy. Giles is the same," and she pointed at the Watcher, who waved from the kitchen.

"Oh, thank goodness," Willow breathed out the breath she had been holding in, and came out from behind Angel, to give Buffy a hug. 

Giles came out of the kitchen to greet them properly, "Hello, Willow."

The redhead eyed him hesitantly, and he returned the look gravely. Then Willow smiled broadly, let go of Buffy, and ran over to give Giles a hug, "I'm glad you're back." 

"I am, too, Willow," he answered softly, his face lighting up with a smile.

"Well, while this is all so bloody heart-wrenching, there are important matters at hand," Spike interrupted.

"Like a bunch of hungry, pissed vampires," Nareia finished.

"Ah, yes," Giles let go of Willow, and sat down on the sofa. "We have to put up a resistance, before they think they can take over the town while the Slayer is weak."

"I'm not weak, I could take them," Buffy protested, but wavered under the questioning eyes of the three vampires and her Watcher. "Or not," she admitted, "but I'm not staying here tonight while all those lot are wandering round, creating mayhem."

"I wouldn't think of stopping you," Giles answered, "And we have to remember that they, too, are weak from the sunlight. There are quite a lot of them left, though, so we mustn't give them time to regroup."

"What do you mean, there's a lot of them left?" Willow frowned. "Didn't my spell work?"

Giles put his hand on Willow's arm. "It did work, perfectly, but there are a lot of dark corners in that amphitheatre that they could hide in, and not all the vampires were in there at the time," he explained.

Willow nodded, but she still looked disappointed. Angel walked over to her, and kneeled down in front of her, placing his hands on her knees, "Willow, don't feel bad. It worked, and we're all safe, and alive, so to speak."

Willow smiled at him in thanks, and cheered up slightly, "You'd best be going then, if you're going to kick some vampire ass. Bad vampire ass, that is. Not that there's anything wrong with bad vampires," she babbled as she looked from Angel to Nareia, and then on to Spike.

Spike just shook his head, and smiled at her, and then turned and walked out with Nareia beside him. Angel stood up and picked up his axe to follow them out. Buffy picked up her crossbow, and stopped at the doorway to say, "Don't wait up for us," before disappearing after them.

"Well, more waiting," Xander complained at the same time as Anya asked, "Have you got any food, Giles?" all the while moving to inspect the fridge.

"Um, yes," Giles said in his best patient voice, but Willow saw a flash of annoyance in his eyes, and smiled. She could see that Giles was truly back.

Part 12


	12. Part 12

PART TWELVE:

"So, what's with you and Willow?" Buffy asked, punctuating every word with a hit to the vampire she was facing. 

"What?" Angel asked, as he spun and kicked his opponent in the face.

Buffy dusted her vampire, and turned around, "You know, Willow, redhead, my best friend?"

"Oh, Willow," Angel confirmed, with a small smile on his face as he saw the look of impatience on the blonde's face. It turned to fear as she looked behind him, but Angel deftly swung round and stuck the stake that he held in his left hand into the oncoming vampire's chest. Then he looked back at the Slayer, and shrugged, saying "She's a friend, like everyone else," before turning to walk away in search of more vampires.

Buffy looked at him long and hard, and didn't say anything, but thought, _And how long will it stay that way? Still, I guess he has to move on as well; after all, I have Riley._ Buffy smiled softly as she thought of her boyfriend, and then ran after the retreating back of the dark vampire.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you sure you're all right?" Spike asked, as he calmly staked the vampire on the ground in front of him, looking up at Nareia as he did so.

The petite vampire was flying through mid-air at the time, and her feet connected with her opponent's neck with a sharp crack a few moments later. She twisted in the air, and landed deftly on her feet. Nareia looked at Spike, "Yeah, why?"

Spike stood up, and shrugged, "No reason. You're just, being a damn sight more aggressive than I thought you would be, that's all."

Nareia looked at him, puzzled, "Spike, I'm a vampire. When I'm kicking someone's ass, that's the time I can give in to the demon and not be afraid something's going to happen that I don't want to. It's when I'm free. Believe me, you don't want to see me when I'm mad."

Spike's eyes grew wide as he watched his lover spin on her feet, knock down the vampire that had been trying to sneak up on her, and stake him, all in one fluid move. "If that's you happy, you're wrong; I'd love to see you mad, pet," he grinned, and then turned exchange punches with another vampire that had attempted to leap at him from behind a tree.

"What is it with these vamps, anyway? The attack-one-at-a-time-so-I'm-easier-to-stake thing?" Nareia asked, a frown on her face as she quickly disposed of another opponent, "They never used to be this bloody wimpy."

Spike shrugged, as he and Nareia fought back to back briefly, and then stood, looking round, for their next victim, "I don't bloody know, luv. They always seem to do this in Sunnyhell. I think the Watcher put a spell on them to make it easier for the Slayer to dust them."

Nareia pouted, "That's all very well, but it's not as much bloody fun."

Spike laughed out loud, and turned to lift Nareia up, "You're right, again, Nareia. Let's see if we can rile them up a bit."

Nareia returned the grin, and kissed him quickly on the lips before he put her down. "What a fantastic idea, darling," she said, grabbing his hand, and dragging him off to where more vampires lurked.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Vampires," they said in unison. Looking at each other for a moment, they then turned and strode determinedly towards where they felt the presence of many vampires.

"Wait," Angel instructed Buffy, putting a restraining arm on the enthusiastic Slayer.

"What is it, Angel?" 

"Spike and Nareia," he returned shortly.

"Well, let's help them, come on," Buffy pulled out of his grip and walked forward.

Angel followed more slowly behind her, and saw her stop dead when she turned the corner of a mausoleum. Coming to a stop behind her, he looked round the corner at the fighting.

Spike and Nareia were surrounded by about twenty vampires, and, at first glance, it appeared that they were losing, and badly. Buffy and Angel could see that they were, in fact, not only holding their own, but dusting vampires left, right, and centre, and enjoying it immensely. The look of elation on their faces, and the speed and fluidity of their movements was mesmerising.

Angel smiled slightly at the faces of the younger vampires, but Buffy was in shock.

Spike saw them, and yelled out, "Hey, you're not going to ponce in and bloody interfere, are you? Because we're doing fine here ourselves."

Nareia turned to see who he was shouting at, and saw Angel and Buffy in the shadows. "Lair, over there," she pointed with one hand, while the other staked the vampire that was attacking her. "Have a good time," she grinned, and turned back to the fighting.

Angel nodded once, and pulled Buffy away, "They'll be fine, they can take care of themselves. Why don't we see to this lair?"

Buffy shook herself out of the trance she had been in, and followed Angel toward the lair Nareia had indicated.

Upon opening the mausoleum door, they found about ten vampires who were too injured to go out hunting, staring at them in astonishment. Acting on instinct, Buffy and Angel took advantage of their opponents' shock, and threw themselves into the job of dispatching them. It didn't take them long, and soon they were coming out of the crypt, dusting off their clothes.

They returned to where Spike and Nareia had been, to discover them alone, holding hands, with huge grins on their faces. "I haven't had that much fun in years," Nareia said, smiling.

"Me neither, pet," Spike agreed. "You were bloody fantastic."

"You weren't so bad yourself," Nareia returned. Then she turned to the waiting pair in the shadows, "Did you get them?"

Buffy nodded, "Easy as pie. Thanks for the tip."

Nareia shrugged, "No problem, you needed something to do. I couldn't let us have all the fun."

Buffy smiled, and moved over to stand next to the smaller woman, "So, tell me, how did you do it? I mean, I know vampires have superior strength, but you're not the largest person in the world, and, there were a lot of them."

Nareia let go of Spike's hand, and started walking next to the Slayer, leaving Angel and Spike to follow behind. "I know, but I have been fighting vampires for 120 odd years, so I've had a lot of practise, and you get to hone your instincts to a fine point when you're fighting for your life, or unlife, as the case may be," she explained to the attentive Slayer. "Besides, I haven't fought vampires on a big scale in quite a while, so it was nice to be challenged, and Spike's a good partner, especially when you know what he's going to do."

"Ah, the whole mind-bond thing," Buffy nodded her head in understanding. "Doesn't that get a little intrusive at times?"

Nareia shook her head, "No, I can always block out thoughts if I really don't want Spike to know what I'm thinking. Although the longer we're close to each other, the more we know about each other, and what we're likely to be thinking anyway, so there's less need to."

Behind them, Angel and Spike were talking about Nareia. Angel shook his head, "She's got a lot better since I last saw her."

"Angel, that was 100 years ago, she's had a lot of practise since then," Spike pointed out. "She's magnificent, though," there was awe in his voice as he admiringly watched her walking in front of him.

"A match for Buffy?" Angel asked quietly.

Spike continued walking in silence for a moment, thinking, "I don't know. It'd be damn close. She's as close as a vampire could get to Slayer strength. I'd love to see them fight," he added with a smirk and a glint in his eye.

Angel just looked from his childe to Nareia and Buffy talking together, laughing quietly, and walked on in silence, his face dark in thought.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Willow jumped up from the sofa when the four of them returned. "Are you all ok?" she asked anxiously, giving them all a discerning once-over.

"Yes, Willow, we're fine," Nareia smiled, and went to sit on the sofa. Spike followed her, and wouldn't let her sit down, saying, "Where am I going to sit?"

"On the floor?" Nareia suggested with a playful smile, but let the blond vampire sit on the sofa and pull her onto his lap.

"I could really do with some food, though," Buffy said, throwing her crossbow into the weapons cupboard, and walking into the kitchen.

"Giles, you should have seen Spike and Nareia. They were amazing," her muffled voice came from kitchen.

Giles looked over at the pair, who were sitting comfortably, Nareia cradled up against Spike's shoulder. "That doesn't surprise me," he replied. "They do have a psychic connection, which I should think would be very useful when fighting together." He raised his eyebrow at them, and Nareia nodded in confirmation of his hypothesis.

"Who's taken all the cookies?" Buffy's annoyed voice drifted through, and her heads popped out the hole to glare accusingly at everyone. The vampires just looked at her and shrugged. Willow and Giles shook their heads, hiding their smiles.

"Where's Xander and Anya?" Buffy asked suspiciously.

Xander's head popped up from behind the chair Willow was sitting in, his mouth half full of something as he tried to say, "I'm here, Buffy, what was it you wanted?"

"Cookies, you Hoover!" Buffy growled at him, and ran out of the kitchen.

Xander yelped, and hid behind the chair again, imploring, "Willow, help!"

Willow just shook her head, her hand over her mouth to stop her from laughing out loud, and tears streaming down her face. Buffy reached down and pulled Xander up by his collar.

"Why did you eat all of _my_ cookies?" she demanded.

"Now, wait a minute, technically, they were mine," Giles protested half-heartedly, also trying not to laugh.

"What are you doing? Put him down, he's mine," Anya came storming out from the hallway, and pulled Buffy off Xander. "Are you okay, baby?" she cuddled him.

Xander nodded dumbly, and pointed accusingly at the infuriated blonde girl, "She accused me of eating all the cookies."

"Oh," Anya turned, and shook her head, "Xander didn't eat all of them. We all shared." The ex-demon swept her arm out to include Willow and Giles.

The look on Buffy's face as she turned to glare at Giles and Willow reduced them both into laughter, which Giles finally managed to control enough to gasp out, "Buffy, there are more under the cutlery drawer."

Buffy face lit up. "Double choc chip?" she asked hopefully.

Giles nodded, "Double chocolate chip, your favourite."

Buffy grinned, gave Giles a quick hug, and ran back through to the kitchen. Willow managed to stop laughing to tell the bemused vampires, "Slaying's a hungry job, I'm sure you understand."

They nodded, and Spike stood up, holding on to Nareia as he did so, "Speaking of hungry, I'm bloody famished."

Nareia nodded at the window, "It's almost dawn."

Willow, Xander, and Anya stood up as well, Xander saying, "We'd best be getting back home as well."

"We'll escort you home, if you like," Nareia offered to Xander and Anya.

They shook their heads. "It's all right. We can take care of ourselves. Besides, there aren't likely to be any vamps about now, are there?" Xander pointed out.

Nareia smiled in agreement, "No, there aren't."

Willow shouted to Buffy, "Come on, Buffy, I'm going home, are you coming?"

"I'm coming," Buffy's muffled voice came from around a mouthful of cookies. "I'll see you later, Giles."

The Watcher nodded silently, and saw them all out, before climbing slowly up the stairs to collapse, exhausted, on his bed.

Outside, Angel and Willow were looking at each while Xander and Buffy fought over the cookie box that Buffy was holding. Willow finally heard the commotion, smiled crookedly, and said softly to the vampires, "I'll come over later." She dragged Buffy away then, turning for one last look at the vampires, who were watching them leave.

Spike sighed, "What a bloody eventful night. Time for a quick snack before we hit the hay, if we hurry."

Angel and Nareia grimaced together, but followed the blond vampire down the stairs.

Part 13


End file.
